Briana Lawrence
brichibi@yahoo.com | @BrichibiTweets | www.magnifiquenoir.com
I’m a freelance writer, self-published author, cosplayer, and panelist who focuses on the importance of positive representation for marginalized groups in the media.
Articles
This section will show some examples of the pieces I’ve written for various websites. These are a mix of opinion pieces and pieces that take a deeper look at various forms of media. I will include the works that I feel are the strongest and that show a range of topics. If you’d like to see more there will be a link attached to each header. If there’s no link attached it’s because all the pieces I’ve written for that outlet are listed below.
Wear Your Voice Magazine
- Black Girls Like Anime. That’s It. Send Tweet.
- Stepping Back Into The Repurposed Closet for the Holidays
- Three Forms of Faux -Acceptance to Avoid to Live Your Best Queer Life
The Root
- Trust Black Women: On Celebrating Pride Amid Racism in the LGBTQ+ Community
- Don’t Play With Our Emotions – Black Panther and Queer Representation [also recommended by the New York Times]
- Learning to Love Myself by Playing Dress-Up
Syfy Wire
- How Fanfiction Helped Me Come Out
- The Moral Of Avengers Infinity War – Kill Your Friends And Loved Ones
- The Last Jedi’s Message to People of Color – You Don’t Have to be the Sacrifice
Into
*As of August 2019, this website is no longer online. Below are links to Google Docs of each article so they can still be read*
- Forgiveness Is A Privilege – On Ellen and Kevin Hart
- What Even Is Good Representation?
- How Queer, How Black, How Fat Can My Hero Be?
Uncanny Magazine
Inverse
- How My Hero Academia Made Me Reconsider Teenage Mental Health
- From My Hero Academia to Spider-Man – Should Superheroes Get Paid
- Voltron Shiro – Stop Pre-emptively Outing Gay Characters To Generate Buzz
Black Youth Project
- Why Is It So Hard To Imagine Fat Girls As More Than Said And Alone
- The Rage Felt So Good Until it Didn’t – The Difficulty of Cutting Off Abusive Family Members
- How I Learned to Stop Torturing Myself in Hopes of Getting to the “Good Part” of Bad Entertainment
Black Girl Nerds
- Representation Matters But So Does Embracing Fandom & Nerding Out
- Representation Isn’t Finite And Shouldn’t Be Treated As Such
- I’m Already Here: Anissa Pierce & Black Lightning’s Queer Representation
Twin Cities Geek
- Please Stop Using Creators of Color to Defend Representation Problems
- When Did Cosplay Stop Being About Fun? (Spoiler: It Didn’t)
- Why Halloween Season Can Be a Downer for Black Cosplayers
Miscellaneous
- Not Having Sex With My Boyfriend in College Helped Me Figure Out Who I Really Was (Teen Vogue)
- Proudly Fat, Black, Queer and Making a Home for Myself in Cosplay (Autostraddle)
- #28DaysOfBlackCosplay – Why We’re Still Rockin’ The Hashtag After 5 Years (Essence) [was also featured on Shondaland]
- Persona 5 – My Saving Grace From Trump’s America (I Need Diverse Games)
Reviews
This section will show some examples of movie reviews I’ve written. I will include the works that I feel are the strongest, and that show a range in the media I tend to be interested in. If you want to read more of my reviews click on the link attached to the REVIEWS header.
Books/Anthologies
Here is a list of my published books along with any upcoming releases.
- magnifiqueNOIR Book One: I Am Magical: The first in my magical girl illustrated novel series that features a team of black, queer heroines who come together to protect their city from various monsters who represent the struggles that young women face.
- Seeking the Storyteller: Book One in the Hunters Series: The first in my urban fantasy series with my partner, Jessica Walsh, that centers on a being called the Storyteller who can read your entire life like a book and change it any way he wants.
- Beneath the Chapter: Book Two in the Hunters Series: The next installment to the Hunters series.
- magnifiqueNOIR Book Two: You Are Magical (to be released Fall 2019): The next installment to the magnifiqueNOIR series.
- You Are My Sunshine (to be released Fall 2019): A fanzine that centers on the relationship between Izuku Midoriya and Eijirou Kirishima from My Hero Academia. I have two stories featured in the zine.
- Wanderlust (to be released Fall 2019): A fanzine that centers on the relationship between Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou from My Hero Academia. I have two stories featured in the zine.
- Double Hue (soon to be re-released): A young man wakes up to the news of his boyfriend being murdered, but when he cries himself to sleep, he wakes up to discover that it’s a week before the incident. Can he save his boyfriend in time?
- Treat Me Kindly (soon to be re-released): There’s a fancy auction in the city that lets people bid on exotic animals who can shapeshift into real people. These creatures are more than happy to be placed into good homes… so long as you follow the rules.
Education
May 2006
- Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Writing: Iowa State University
- Bachelor’s Degree in Women and Gender Studies: Iowa State University
Skills
- Creative Writing
- Script Writing (WatchMojo.com)
- Critical Thinking/Analysis
- Marketing
- Building/Creating a Brand
- Public Speaking/Presentations
- Organizing Projects
- Designing Clothing/Cosplay
Panels/Presentations
A list of the different panels/presentations I’ve put together with my partner. I’m also willing to join others for their panels on similar topics. Details of these presentations can be found by clicking on the link attached to the PANELS/PRESENTATIONS header.
- Beyond Creation: Diversity in Writing
- From Fanfiction to Professional Writing
- Living the Freelance Life
- Cosplay Positivity: The Good, The Bad, The Self Love
- Frankensteining Patterns
- Collaborating with Other Creatives (in-progress for 2020)