Ytasha L. Womack is a filmmaker, futurist, and the author of Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci-Fi and Fantasy Culture, and Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African American Identity, and a contributor to the Smithsonian exhibit companion title Afrofuturism: A History of Black Futures. Womack has taught and lectured on Afrofuturism to audiences ranging from Carnegie Hall and the Smithsonian, to Afropunk's Film Festival in Brooklyn to the Sonic Acts Festival in Amsterdam; St. Etienne School of Architecture in France to MIT Media Lab's "Beyond the Cradle" in Boston. She is the creator of the Rayla 2212 sci-fi multimedia series, the director of the award-winning film The Engagement, the producer and writer of Love Shorts, and the coeditor of Beats Rhymes and Life: What We Love and Hate About Hip Hop. She lives in Chicago.