Building new worlds
so every voice
gets to lead the quest.
Fantasy belongs to everyone
with a story to tell.
Mission
To support the creation and dissemination of speculative fiction that celebrates Black excellence and fosters community engagement.
Vision
A Central Texas with expanded representation in the fantasy genre, as demonstrated by the availability of ongoing employment and new platforms for local actors, writers, and visual artists of color.
Values
A growing legacy of speculative fiction
The last decade has brought a surge of work centering African and African American identities in speculative fiction, from Black Panther and Lovecraft Country to the novels of N.K. Jemisin and a renewed interest in Octavia Butler. The Institute for Imagined Worlds produces original work that adds to that legacy, and builds the casting, training, and platforms that keep it growing here in Central Texas.
Voice acting remains a chronically closed market, and Austin has watched artists of color leave the area as casting and creative opportunities decline. Our flagship project, the audio drama The Burden of Legacy, exists to reverse that trend: to put actors of color to work, to give writers of color a platform, and to prove that fantasy told from an African and African Diasporic perspective belongs on every listener's feed.
The Burden of Legacy
Book One. A BIPOC centered fantasy audio drama.
The heir to the House of A Thousand Blossoms prepares to leave home on a ceremonial quest. He embarks to seek his fortunes and discover his true name. But his journey begins before the appointed time, when an ancient artifact is uncovered by his family's mining operation, and someone wants to wrest it from their grasp.
Along the way, our hero meets a pair of spellcasters who tutor him in the ways of magic. But will their help be enough, as the search to uncover an ancient mystery threatens to embroil the nation? The call to adventure cannot be denied. But what will the journey cost him?
Temman-Jâwé
Welcome to Temman-Jâwé
The speaking people of this world call their continent Agwé, and their world Temman-Jâwé. The story centers on Cadraswé, a wealthy coastal nation ruled by the Paramount and the Council of Inheritors, whose capital, Cadras, is a bustling port city on the Bay of the Crescent Maw.
Centuries ago, beings from the Lower Planes crossed the Sea of Grist and conquered the speaking peoples, ruling through a millennium of oppression until heroes rose to defeat Apheledon the Cruel and tear down the Palace of the Masters. That age has passed, but its traces remain in the dark corners of the world, and in the ambitions of Adséwé, the theocratic nation to the northwest with whom Cadraswé has already fought two wars.
Meet the Characters
The journey begins in your ears
The Rite of Passage
Jhae'œn Amarazae is preparing to leave home for his rite of passage when he is abducted by a spellcasting crime boss, then rescued by a pair of veteran spellcasters. In their escape, they learn the kidnapping is tied to his father's plans for a mysterious artifact found on their family's lands. It's powerful. Everyone wants it. And some will do anything to control it.
The House of A Thousand Blossoms
Fresh from a harrowing trek back from the capital, the characters reach the House of A Thousand Blossoms and uncover the artifact's true origins, along with its connection to the long, troubled history of Temman-Jâwé. Their search leads them into the wilds of the Great Dismal Moor, in pursuit of an ancient civilization, new allies, and dangerous new enemies. Whoever controls the Needle may control the fate of the world.
New episodes of The Burden of Legacy, wherever you get your podcasts.
From launch parties to zine workshops
We bring Temman-Jâwé to life across Austin, with live readings, art shows, and community storytelling events.
View all events