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As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories
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
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
192 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 9, 2026
Review to come.
July 17, 2025
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!
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!
January 27, 2026
Sometimes collections earn two or three stars because they have high points and low points; other times, it's because few of the stories stood out to me in either direction. This is a case of the latter. The prose here is consistently strong, but I wanted most of the stories to have a second pass of structural revisions to tighten the characters and themes.
February 16, 2026
favourite stories: ravenous, called iffy; peak day; paroxysm
November 30, 2025
so many intriguing stories. a few of them brought tears to my eyes and i wished some had been longer!
July 20, 2026
This was a mixed bag for my personal taste in stories but I'm glad I picked it up and got introduced to more Black Canadian writers in the speculative fiction space, and got to read more stories from the three authors I was already familiar with!
My favourites of the 10 were:
- The Hole in the Middle of the World by Chinelo Onwualu (new to me)
- A Fair Assessment by Terese Mason Pierre (new to me; editor)
- Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere by francesca ekwuyasi (read before, very similar in vibes to Butter Honey Pig Bread)
- Paroxysm by Zalika Reid-Benta (read before; gave me pandemic but make it speculative vibes)
My favourites of the 10 were:
- The Hole in the Middle of the World by Chinelo Onwualu (new to me)
- A Fair Assessment by Terese Mason Pierre (new to me; editor)
- Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere by francesca ekwuyasi (read before, very similar in vibes to Butter Honey Pig Bread)
- Paroxysm by Zalika Reid-Benta (read before; gave me pandemic but make it speculative vibes)
Read
November 5, 2025Favourites:
- 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
- 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
November 9, 2025
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.
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.
July 16, 2025
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.
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.
July 17, 2026
Editor Terese Mason Pierre has collected ten fabulous (in both senses of the word) stories by Black Canadians into what has instantly become one of my all-time favourite anthologies.
The opening story, Chimedum Ohaegbu’s, “Ravenous, Called Iffy”, sets the tone. There is a dream-like quality to the writing: each individual moment is clear and meaningful and relatable, but subject to absurdist segways: “After my mother’s third death . . .”. Wait, what? But of course, the purpose of such intrusions is to shake the reader loose from the literal context to connect the reader to the universal experience of family. The story is ostensibly about the ambivalent identities and life experiences of second-generation immigrants, but using magic realism as the canvas, Ohaegbu is able to integrate those specific understandings into the broader human condition. This story may not be about you or your family—even though it very much feels like that time your cousin explained to you, yet again, how they were related; or that time your bestie got married and you couldn’t just go over all the time anymore; or when your mom made you feel like she was disappointed in you because she did something perfectly reasonable, but unexpected—but Ohaegbu makes you feel all the feels as if it were your life and your family. That sort of specific representation and universal relatability is a lot to ask of a short story, but Ohaegbu pulls it off perfectly.
Several other stories use speculative elements to deeply explore this theme of family. Whitney French’s “Deh Ah Market” invokes the rhythms of language, culture, and genetics to reveal how the family’s origins in the islands of the 1840s connect with their relations in contemporary island-like neighbourhoods in Toronto, cousins entangled across time and space. Instead of going backwards to explore roots, Francesca Ekwuyas, “Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere” goes sideways into a parallel world. Ekwuyas posits that even when the details differ across timelines, the fundamentals of one’s relationships don’t change. Trynne Delaney’s “Playing Dead” takes the opposite approach, depicting what happens when families become disconnected from their histories and each other. In a future shaped by billionaires and pandemics, Delany’s nanny observes how her employers’ narcistic obsession with immortality has literally drained the life out of their family. (Given the current news cycle, this story feels less like futuristic SF and more like exposé.) Lue Palmer’s interrogates the shadows that actively haunt a family dynamic in “Mother, Father, Baby”.
Chinelo Onwualu’s “The Hole in the Middle of the World” widens the lens to explore the historical experience of vulnerable populations by projecting them into the future. The viewpoint character is a refugee finding ways to endure while her application for status wends its way through the bureaucracy. The SF element is subtle and chilling, but the moment you realize what’s actually happening is the moment you think, “that’s what it must have been like for the Indigenous”. It is a moment of sudden clarity, because stripped of its original eugenics and 60s Scoop background, the story bypasses the reader’s automatic defensiveness to tap directly into empathy. As a bonus, Onwualu provides an optimistic ending that suggests it is not too late to do better.
The rest of the anthology is balanced by somewhat lighter fare. Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s “Peak Day” is a wincingly funny satire of Prime Day, consumerism, and worker exploitation. Zalika Reid-Benta’s “Paroxysm” may have been inspired by the Covid pandemic, but takes a sharp left turn into the surreal to illustrate the psychological costs of lockdown. “Just say Garuka” by Aline-mwezi NiyonSenga is an absolute delight, as queer teens develop a friendship over . . . let’s say, driving lessons. Editor Terese Mason Pierre’s own entry, “A Fair Assessment” starts from the intriguing premise of summoning the ghosts of the former owners of various antiques so their stories can be added to the sales pitch. Pierre then throws in the additional curve ball of accidentally calling up one’s own ancestor.
As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories, then, is a brilliant example of how modern Canadian speculative fiction can be used as a canvas to interrogate identity, culture, and the meaning of life from formerly excluded perspectives. The infusion of these diverse voices also demonstrates how different sound, diction, cadence, grammar, syntax, metaphor, allusion, and so on allows authors to explore the structure and implications of language and culture—without resorting to Klingon.
The opening story, Chimedum Ohaegbu’s, “Ravenous, Called Iffy”, sets the tone. There is a dream-like quality to the writing: each individual moment is clear and meaningful and relatable, but subject to absurdist segways: “After my mother’s third death . . .”. Wait, what? But of course, the purpose of such intrusions is to shake the reader loose from the literal context to connect the reader to the universal experience of family. The story is ostensibly about the ambivalent identities and life experiences of second-generation immigrants, but using magic realism as the canvas, Ohaegbu is able to integrate those specific understandings into the broader human condition. This story may not be about you or your family—even though it very much feels like that time your cousin explained to you, yet again, how they were related; or that time your bestie got married and you couldn’t just go over all the time anymore; or when your mom made you feel like she was disappointed in you because she did something perfectly reasonable, but unexpected—but Ohaegbu makes you feel all the feels as if it were your life and your family. That sort of specific representation and universal relatability is a lot to ask of a short story, but Ohaegbu pulls it off perfectly.
Several other stories use speculative elements to deeply explore this theme of family. Whitney French’s “Deh Ah Market” invokes the rhythms of language, culture, and genetics to reveal how the family’s origins in the islands of the 1840s connect with their relations in contemporary island-like neighbourhoods in Toronto, cousins entangled across time and space. Instead of going backwards to explore roots, Francesca Ekwuyas, “Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere” goes sideways into a parallel world. Ekwuyas posits that even when the details differ across timelines, the fundamentals of one’s relationships don’t change. Trynne Delaney’s “Playing Dead” takes the opposite approach, depicting what happens when families become disconnected from their histories and each other. In a future shaped by billionaires and pandemics, Delany’s nanny observes how her employers’ narcistic obsession with immortality has literally drained the life out of their family. (Given the current news cycle, this story feels less like futuristic SF and more like exposé.) Lue Palmer’s interrogates the shadows that actively haunt a family dynamic in “Mother, Father, Baby”.
Chinelo Onwualu’s “The Hole in the Middle of the World” widens the lens to explore the historical experience of vulnerable populations by projecting them into the future. The viewpoint character is a refugee finding ways to endure while her application for status wends its way through the bureaucracy. The SF element is subtle and chilling, but the moment you realize what’s actually happening is the moment you think, “that’s what it must have been like for the Indigenous”. It is a moment of sudden clarity, because stripped of its original eugenics and 60s Scoop background, the story bypasses the reader’s automatic defensiveness to tap directly into empathy. As a bonus, Onwualu provides an optimistic ending that suggests it is not too late to do better.
The rest of the anthology is balanced by somewhat lighter fare. Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s “Peak Day” is a wincingly funny satire of Prime Day, consumerism, and worker exploitation. Zalika Reid-Benta’s “Paroxysm” may have been inspired by the Covid pandemic, but takes a sharp left turn into the surreal to illustrate the psychological costs of lockdown. “Just say Garuka” by Aline-mwezi NiyonSenga is an absolute delight, as queer teens develop a friendship over . . . let’s say, driving lessons. Editor Terese Mason Pierre’s own entry, “A Fair Assessment” starts from the intriguing premise of summoning the ghosts of the former owners of various antiques so their stories can be added to the sales pitch. Pierre then throws in the additional curve ball of accidentally calling up one’s own ancestor.
As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories, then, is a brilliant example of how modern Canadian speculative fiction can be used as a canvas to interrogate identity, culture, and the meaning of life from formerly excluded perspectives. The infusion of these diverse voices also demonstrates how different sound, diction, cadence, grammar, syntax, metaphor, allusion, and so on allows authors to explore the structure and implications of language and culture—without resorting to Klingon.
October 15, 2025
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.
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.
August 14, 2026
I was gifted a copy of this book by House of Anansi Press. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
As the Earth Dreams is a collection of ten speculative short stories by Black Canadian authors.
Most of these stories didn’t work for me, and only a couple actually achieved the right balance of complexity, emotional weight, and thought-provoking curiosity that makes speculative fiction so good.
Out of the ten, these were my top three:
⤷ The Hole in the Middle of the World
A world in which memories are sold for cash, with the sole purpose of severing the link between refugees and their biological children.
⤷ A Fair Assessment
Ancestry is explored though an appraiser at an antique shop who summons the dead in order to determine how to price an item accordingly.
⤷ Ravenous, Called Iffy
A girl named Ravenous attends her mother’s fourth funeral and resurrection in the city of her namesake, puzzled as to why her mother didn’t reach out to her in the five years since her last resurrection.
As the Earth Dreams is a collection of ten speculative short stories by Black Canadian authors.
Most of these stories didn’t work for me, and only a couple actually achieved the right balance of complexity, emotional weight, and thought-provoking curiosity that makes speculative fiction so good.
Out of the ten, these were my top three:
⤷ The Hole in the Middle of the World
A world in which memories are sold for cash, with the sole purpose of severing the link between refugees and their biological children.
⤷ A Fair Assessment
Ancestry is explored though an appraiser at an antique shop who summons the dead in order to determine how to price an item accordingly.
⤷ Ravenous, Called Iffy
A girl named Ravenous attends her mother’s fourth funeral and resurrection in the city of her namesake, puzzled as to why her mother didn’t reach out to her in the five years since her last resurrection.
March 28, 2026
I really enjoyed reading this short story anthology. There were a lot of stories that were very experimental, like Peak Day by Suyi Davies Okungbowa and Hallelujah, Here and Elsewhere by francesca ekwuyasi, and I really enjoyed reading them. There were a few stories that didn’t really work for me and were a little hard for me to follow. Those felt like they leaned too much into the lyricism, though maybe I was missing something. My favorite was The Hole in the Middle of the World by Chinelo Onwalu. It was so sharp and balanced being dystopian and hopeful. The story loops in on itself and intentionally confuses the reader until you understand what is happening. I absolutely loved it. I go into anthologies expecting that I won’t love every story, but I like getting to sample a lot of different writings from writers I maybe wouldn’t find otherwise. So this worked well for me overall.
October 23, 2025
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.
October 12, 2025
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
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
October 26, 2025
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
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
October 31, 2025
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.
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.
November 9, 2025
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!
4 stars, thank you to @houseofanansi for the gifted copy!
December 7, 2025
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
December 17, 2025
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.
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.
January 25, 2026
This one was so much fun!! I want to read more Canadian stories this year and this book included 10 short stories by 10 different authors.
I think my favourites were A Fair Assessment, Just Say Garuka and Deh Ah Market. These three really stuck with me and left me wanting more. In the very short time I had with these characters I became attached to them and wanted to continue reading their stories 😊
I think my favourites were A Fair Assessment, Just Say Garuka and Deh Ah Market. These three really stuck with me and left me wanting more. In the very short time I had with these characters I became attached to them and wanted to continue reading their stories 😊
February 5, 2026
Really fantastic, cohesive collection of stories. There were three standouts, and only one I was a bit meh on. Overall, a great introduction to a number of writers I'm interested in reading more from!
Faves: The Hole in the Middle of the World (Chinelo Onwualu), A Fair Assessment, (Terese Mason Pierre), Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere (francesca ekwuyasi).
Faves: The Hole in the Middle of the World (Chinelo Onwualu), A Fair Assessment, (Terese Mason Pierre), Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere (francesca ekwuyasi).
July 10, 2025
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.
September 21, 2025
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.
“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.
January 21, 2026
Hallelujah Here and Elsewhere by francesca ekwujasi is one of my favourite short stories ever. I'm so glad I was able to read it.
This collection is fantastic all around. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and I'm looking forward to reading more from these authors.
This collection is fantastic all around. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and I'm looking forward to reading more from these authors.
April 23, 2026
A good mix of stories exploring everything from near-future megacorp mind-slavery to communicating with the dead. Highlights for me included Chinelo Onwwualu's "The Hole In The Middle Of The World" and Terese Mason Pierre's "A Fair Assessment".
July 20, 2025
"A Hole in the Middle of the World" was my favorite!
Grateful to have received an ARC at ALA 2025!
Grateful to have received an ARC at ALA 2025!
December 29, 2025
A nice little collection of magic realism and urban fantasy.
February 26, 2026
Brilliant!!
4.5 stars!!
4.5 stars!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews