As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories

by Terese Mason Pierre (Editor)

A ground-breaking anthology of haunting speculative stories by contemporary Black Canadian writers that explore growth, futurity, and joy.


This bold and innovative anthology of speculative short fiction reveals and uplifts the spectacular imaginings, reveries, reflections, experiments, and hopes of Black writers in Canada. A woman attends her mother’s latest resurrection, only to encounter family she’s never met. A postdoc instructor navigates an almost-life in an Elsewhere realm of safety and comfort. After social collapse, a former sex worker leaves her precarious station, and her memories, behind. A woman isolating from a new virus starts hallucinating. In lyrical fragments, a young nanny accepts a job with a peculiar employer. A medium is tasked with summoning a spirit that hits too close to home. And two teenagers test a friendship over magic carpet flying practice. These breathtaking stories explore natural and urban landscapes, living and dead relationships, economic catastrophe, love, and desire—all while celebrating the persistent and ever-changing self, and envisioning beautiful Black futures.







Featuring stories


Trynne Delaney


francesca ekwuyasi


Whitney French


Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga


Chimedum Ohaegbu


Suyi Davies Okungbowa


Chinelo Onwalu


Lue Palmer


Zalika Reid-Benta

Genres: Short Stories, Science Fiction, Canada, Anthologies, Speculative Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

Published October 14, 2025

Reviews

[Shannon Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d like to thank the publisher for providing an ARC of ‘As the Earth Dreams’ - a collection of black canadian speculative stories - in exchange for an honest review.

As a collection of short speculation fiction, this was a very fun read. There were definitely a few stand-outs, but most notable was ‘The Hole in the Middle of the World’ by Chinelo Onwualu—talk about fitting an entire spectrum of emotion into a tiny but powerful package. Each story is entertaining in its own right, and the collection was easy to breeze through, with most of the stories piquing interest and moving fast in a way that causes you to zip right through. I could definitely see myself returning to this to reread some favorites. Altogether was a solid 4 star experience!

[Arianne Laporte · Rating 4 out of 5]

so many intriguing stories. a few of them brought tears to my eyes and i wished some had been longer!

[Myan]

Favourites:
- The Hole in the Middle of the World by Chinelo Onwualu
- Peak Day by Suyi Davies Okungbowa
- Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere by francesca ekwuyasi
- Paroxysm by Zalika Reid-Benta

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you to this fantastic book for being the book that got me to my reading goal. you were worth the money I spent on the physical copy.
the last story was the perfect story to end on and was got this book to 5 stars. it, and many others, will stay with me for a long time.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Anansi/Spiderline for providing an ARC in exchange for this honest review!

I really enjoyed As The Earth Dreams and its wide variety of stories, most with highly specific, distinct styles. It's the kind of anthology where you're never in one place or situation or POV long enough to get bored, as it imagines Black experiences all over the map. My favorite piece was The Hole in the Middle of the World by Chinelo Onwualu, but pretty much every story had something that grabbed me, whether it was character or premise or just really crisp prose. Definitely pick this up next time you're in an anthology mood.

[Alison Gadsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

In one story, the title narrator, Ravenous, Called Iffy, is a massage therapist whose mother keeps dying and whose kept a secret family, one the narrator fears she might love more than her.

In another, a woman who works as an appraiser at a Parkdale antiques shop, summons a spirit to give her the value of a ring, only the spirit tells her more about the ring and herself than she expected.

And another, a woman exists in a time where memories are harvested in order that black women’s children can be claimed and sold to the highest bidder.

In Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere, a woman experiences the traumatic separation of mind and a body that exists in the trauma childhood sexual abuse.

The stories in this essential collection share truths toward a common theme—that women’s bodies, black women’s bodies, are not their own, that they can be freely manipulated, used, lost, transformed, where “No one will hear, and no one will see what I am except me.” Days in these stories repeat themselves because these days exist in a world where time passes but nothing changes. There are childhoods drenched in darkness, with “rude shadows” looming above, an inescapable place where “the rich white folk can’t seem to birth babies on their own anymore.”

There are slips in time and memory where characters trip into worlds where they might find peace, an escape from the suffering that surrounds them like a malevolent stalker. There is also hope because love is a memory that cannot be erased. Friendship and family are places we can fly to and be safe. Speculative fiction holds the truth that often cannot be expressed in predictable plot points and tropes, and this collection expresses truth in so many dreamy, futuristic, magical, and imaginative ways.

[Laurie Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

A big shout out to @houseofanansi for the copy of "As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories" edited by @teresempierre - this is an excellent collection from many amazing contemporary Black authors writing in Canada today. An eclectic collection, full of myth, history and imagination. I love speculative stories and seeing the amazing imaginations that writers have, and this collection sparks so much thinking and from an important viewpoint (being Black in Canada today and what the future could hold). As with any collection, there are some standouts, but all of the stories are easy to zip through and the collection itself reads like a dream. You are never in one place long enough to get weary, and there is such an amazing selection of place and time.

[Enid Wray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I get that this is most definitely not my comfort zone as a reader… but...

There was hardly a story that I connected to in any way - and many that I just did not have a clue at all what was going on, or what the point was supposed to be. Not even the three stories by the only authors whose work I was already familiar with - Trynne Delaney, francesca ekwuyasi and Zalika Reid-Benta - did much of anything for me.

Thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for granting me access to an early digital review copy.

2.5 rounded up to 3

[Nichole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This was a perfect autumn read. I loved this collection of short speculative fiction. There were unsettling undertones in these stories that are weaved in from reality and interpretations of colonialism past and future. The writing throughout all the different authors was captivating and easily brought me into each story. There was only one story I could not easily get into though I still was interested in the subject and foundations of the story. This is a quick read. Highly recommend

[2TReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

as with most anthologies there will be stories that have more hefty and leave an impression on the reader and I found this one to be the same. all the stories were creative and incorporated elements of the speculative that permeate most of not all black writing.

the stories I found the most compelling were the ones that held space for ancestral presence and tech exploitation for survival; see Peak Day, Deh Ah Market, and Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere.

[Jennifer ➰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book expecting to keep it on my nightstand and read a story or two a night before bed, but I found that I didn’t want to put it down! After nearly every story I thought “okay THAT ONE was my favourite.” Anthologies can be hit or miss, so I don’t reach for them often, but this one is definitely worth picking up. These stories were touching, magical and just plain good.

4 stars, thank you to @houseofanansi for the gifted copy!

[Audrey Duplantier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology is full of mind bending and unpredictable stories. Each story is about ten pages long so they’re fast-paced and deliver a delicious small dose of speculative fiction with every single one. I especially loved The hole in the middle of the world. That story kept me invested from the first sentence and I could picture it all in my head like a sci-fi movie. Wonderful trippy stories from powerful voices that use prose and metaphor to touch on serious world issues

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating set of speculative fiction by Black Canadian authors. Many of the stories feature themes of family and memory that were really interesting to me. Lots of the stories were also at least partially set in Canada, which I enjoyed.

Favourite stories: The Hole in the Middle of the World by Chinelo Onwaulu, A Fair Assessment by Terese Mason Pierre, Peak Day by Suyi Davies Okungbowa, deh ah market by Whitney French.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of wildly different stories that are connected by the theme of family and relationships and how the past influences the future. I really enjoyed the pops of speculative color and imagination that each story brought. My advanced reader’s copy does not include the introduction.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fair collection.

“Paroxysm” by Zalika Reid-Benta was my favorite, and the other ones that really stood out to me were “The Hole in the Middle of the World” by Chinelo Onwualu, “Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere” by francesca ekeuyasi, and Just Say Garuka by Aline-Mwezi Niyonsenga.

[Abbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A Hole in the Middle of the World" was my favorite!

Grateful to have received an ARC at ALA 2025!

[Sara Wilund · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5⭐

[Rhia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little collection of magic realism and urban fantasy.