I write, teach, and make magic for all forms of justice and bright futures.

My bio:

BrightFlame (she/they) writes, teaches, and makes magic towards a just, regenerating world. Her debut speculative novel The Working is available now, and her short climate fiction is featured in Solarpunk Creatures, Bioluminescent, and Solarpunk Magazine. Her globally acclaimed workshops for magical and mainstream audiences foster interconnection and resilience, and help us expand our notion of what is possible. She co-founded the Center for Sustainable Futures at Columbia University that features her workshops and nonfiction. She’s a member of the Climate Fiction Writers League, Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association, Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers, and Broad Universe. She lives on Lenape territory (Turtle Island/US) with a human, a forest, a labyrinth, bees, turtles, fungi, rocks, and many other nonhumans. Visit brightflame.com for musings, doodles, workshops, and more.

More:

My adult speculative novel THE WORKING is here: Water Dragon Publishing. It’s perfect for those who cry Yes! to feminist Witches and love the natural world. A modern coven must thwart a looming eco-cataclysm and find the key to the bright future we need.

In it, I embed my flavor of magic and activism, plus Ancestor wisdom. Readers hail THE WORKING for its diverse characters, justice notes, ecofeminism, and real Witchcraft.

My climate fiction is featured in  Solarpunk Creatures (World Weaver Press, 2024), Bioluminescent (Android Press, 2023), in Issue 6 of Solarpunk Magazine, and in Issue 5 of Optopia.

I have a growing number of cli-fi stories on submission, and plan to collect my stories set in the same solarpunk future, different timeframes into a mosaic novel.

I write nonfiction for the Columbia University sustainability education center I’m affiliated with, for instance “Towards Solarpunk Futures.” My essay “Weaving Magic in the Mundane” is included in Honoring the Wild (February 2023).

Many of you have urged me to write nonfiction books collecting my magical teachings. I’m working on one! In the meantime, you can join me for a class or workshop.

Active and teaching in the worldwide Reclaiming Tradition for decades, my workshops with internationally acclaimed author Starhawk offer tools to shape our world. My recent Witchcamp teaching and workshops help us stay centered and resilient in these spinning times and widen our energy and effect on the world. I’ve offered versions of Storying a Bright Future to both magical and mainstream audiences, including for book festivals and an international collaboration through Columbia University.

Solarpunk is a great descriptor of how I move through life. It describes my writing and teaching. See my article to understand more about this movement, aesthetic, and genre.

Peruse my writing and class offerings for more about my work.

And then there’s play . . .

The ocean, the forest, the mountains and lakes: immersing myself in the green and blue of the Earth feeds me, inspires me, heals me. As does connecting with others.

Fun Facts

I’ve been teaching and priestexing in the worldwide ecofeminist, antiracist, non-hierarchical Reclaiming Tradition of Witchcraft for more than two decades. I love Reclaiming’s ecstatic ritual style and our blend of spirit and activism.

My pronouns are she or they.

My home is on the unceded territory of the Lenape, the Original People of the Hudson and Delaware River watersheds. I strive to be an ally to local Lenape Nations. Do you know the Original Caretakers of the land you call home? I urge you to find ways to support them.

With my partner, I tend a native plant sanctuary. It’s a very magical place that inspires my writing.

Find me in Frances F. Denny’s Major Arcana: Portraits of Witches in America. I’m in good company!

In the non-magical world, I’m affililated with a sustainability education center at Columbia University and offer workshops for educators on storytelling and on how to make science experiential and visceral.

I’m an active member of SFWA, BSFW, the Climate Fiction Writers League, and Broad Universe.

An aside:

I’ve been using my magical name in the world for decades. I’m amazed at the number of people and businesses using BrightFlame as their RPG (gaming) or business name. Perhaps you’ve come across this phenomenon when searching for me.