The 2021 Ignyte Award Ceremony

The Ignyte Awards are back! We’re celebrating our second year honoring those works and creators making strides in storytelling, inclusivity, and community work. Join us at 4pm ET (GMT-4) to cheer on our finalists and find out who won.

This year’s ceremony takes place on September 18th during FIYAHCON 2021 and will be hosted by Ashia Monet.

Ashia Monet is a speculative fiction author based in Philadelphia. Her work centers LGBTQ+ people of color and ranges from teenage magicians on epic road trips to 19th-century gothic horror characters hunting Dracula. Her young adult debut novel THE BLACK VEINS is available now. You can follow her on Twitter @ashiamonet and Instagram @ashiawrites.

Our trophy artist for 2021 is EDGE.

Ejiwa ‘Edge’ Ebenebe is a Nigerian-Canadian artist based in BC, Canada. Born outside of her parent’s homeland, she went on to experience multiple cultures throughout her childhood and early adulthood.

As an immigrant, she wrestles with concepts of community and identity, both within herself and her work, and strives to create representation for voices (particularly Black and/or LGBTQIA+ folks) who are often pushed out of positive, empowering narratives.

But also echoing in her work is a love for the ethereal, fantasy stories she grew up with. From a passion for vibrant colours, to a love of ornamentation, her varying homes have strongly moulded her creative perspective, weaving themselves throughout each piece she creates.

In combining all these influences she hopes to create work that is uplifting and whimsical, a respite from life’s rigors.

Over the course of her career so far she has worked with clients including Scholastic, Wizards of the Coast and Marvel. Her work has also featured in publications such as F(r)iction, Infected By Art and ImagineFX Magazine.