We are absolutely delighted to share that Out Front Magazine has hosted a cover reveal for Craig Hale’s cover for Decoded Pride Issue #3!
Make sure to get your subscription today to support Craig and all our other fantastic queer and trans creators!
“I love the fact that the publication does a lot of work with trans and queer people to tell stories that aren’t just centered especially in trauma and are about fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction, created by people who have other stories to tell,” Hale says.
For the cover, Hale says they thought about the wide range of queer and trans experiences and expression. Being nonbinary themself, they say they feel like their gender is often treated as a third option, “whereas I more see it as something that’s beyond the spectrum of gender, so I wanted to portray that with this piece.”
Hale blends celestial elements, merging ideas of sci-fi and fantasy, elements of magic, and embracing the concept of royalty—”like art-nouveau inspiration, but also kind of putting my own spin on it,” Hale says. They wanted to portray an image of strength that also has a softness and warmth.
“As Black people, and for Black women in particular, there’s a lot of talk about strength, but not really a lot of opportunity for vulnerability, warmthness, and softness…”
Read the whole reveal and the great interview with the cover artist at Out Front Magazine.
And, below, check out “Transcendent Luminous Flux” by the lovely Craig Hale!
Craig Hale (they/them) is a multi-hyphenate and avid overconsumer of media including film, television, music, ttrpgs, comics, fantasy, sci-fi, and speculative fiction. At times they even find the time and energy to write, podcast, and create art of their own! From the stage to the page – a passion for stories, how they’re told, and by whom has been the lens through which Craig has viewed and critiqued the world around them. This has been most evident in the film review and appreciation podcast they produce and co-host, “I Want You to Watch This.”
Subscriptions to Issue #3 are $14.99–less than fifty cents per story! All creators are compensated for their work; subscriptions include PDF and eBook formats after the June 2022 series concludes.
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