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midnight & indigo: Twenty-two Speculative Stories by Black Women Writers
midnight & indigo celebrates Black women writers with this Speculative fiction special issue of their literary journal. From basements to highways, small towns to new worlds, emerging and established storytellers share tales of fear and discovery, redemption, and resistance.
Black girls are disappearing in broad daylight in the woods of Kent County. A new tea shoppe in a gentrifying neighborhood sells a mysterious concoction. French tourists, seeking to get out of New Orleans during a hurricane, encounter a stultified writer. A woman befriends a strange creature in a wishing well off Fordham Road. Consumed by guilt for his war crimes, a soldier volunteers to rebuild an orphanage. A babysitter learns that a father keeps monsters in the basement. What could be scarier than monsters in the basement? A zombie fighter runs into the worst creature imaginable: a teenage boy. Terror ensues as villagers hunt for a witch on the run. A niece makes dresses for her aunt, a singer accused of cannibalism by their church. As a Zambian girl’s supernatural powers grow, so do complications with the organization that can help her control them. Radiation levels spike on a dying Earth, and it’s only a matter of time until life dies along with it. On Millennium, everything will be okay—right?
…and many more stories.
Contributors include: Kylah Balthazar, Kalynn Bayron, Michele Tracy Berger, Tara Betts, Changu Chiimbwe, Addie Citchens, Jennifer Coley, Tracy Cross, Lyndsey Ellis, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Taliyah Jarrett, Silk Jazmyne, Michelle Renee Lane, Candice Lola, Joy Monaè, Cheree’ Noel, Endria Richardson, Ravynn K. Stringfield, Malissa White, Kanyla Wilson, Jade T. Woodridge, and Nicole Young.
Black girls are disappearing in broad daylight in the woods of Kent County. A new tea shoppe in a gentrifying neighborhood sells a mysterious concoction. French tourists, seeking to get out of New Orleans during a hurricane, encounter a stultified writer. A woman befriends a strange creature in a wishing well off Fordham Road. Consumed by guilt for his war crimes, a soldier volunteers to rebuild an orphanage. A babysitter learns that a father keeps monsters in the basement. What could be scarier than monsters in the basement? A zombie fighter runs into the worst creature imaginable: a teenage boy. Terror ensues as villagers hunt for a witch on the run. A niece makes dresses for her aunt, a singer accused of cannibalism by their church. As a Zambian girl’s supernatural powers grow, so do complications with the organization that can help her control them. Radiation levels spike on a dying Earth, and it’s only a matter of time until life dies along with it. On Millennium, everything will be okay—right?
…and many more stories.
Contributors include: Kylah Balthazar, Kalynn Bayron, Michele Tracy Berger, Tara Betts, Changu Chiimbwe, Addie Citchens, Jennifer Coley, Tracy Cross, Lyndsey Ellis, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Taliyah Jarrett, Silk Jazmyne, Michelle Renee Lane, Candice Lola, Joy Monaè, Cheree’ Noel, Endria Richardson, Ravynn K. Stringfield, Malissa White, Kanyla Wilson, Jade T. Woodridge, and Nicole Young.
275 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2020
23 people are currently reading
320 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 8, 2021
Wow! I loved these stories! I definitely have a couple favorites and some new authors I want to explore. I enjoyed every minute reading these stories.
January 30, 2021
This is an enjoyable and deliciously creepy anthology of twenty-two speculative fiction stories by Black women. In it you'll meet a mer man-like creature who grants wishes with a twist; mothers out for vengeance; a woman who turns into a butterfly; a variety of monsters born of stifled rage; and more. The majority of stories border on horror more than sci-fi. There are many really stand out stories. For me, these include Kylah Balthazar's reverse time tale "But A Little Lignin Usually Remains"; Candice Lola's satisfying "Two Giants, One Man"; and a real gem by Malissa White entitled "Vessel". There are many others in this anthology.
If you ever marvel at how Black women survive the daily diminishments and cruelties of racism, this is one response. Anger and rage have been channeled into creativity; pain transformed into strength. This is Afrofuturism at its best.
If you ever marvel at how Black women survive the daily diminishments and cruelties of racism, this is one response. Anger and rage have been channeled into creativity; pain transformed into strength. This is Afrofuturism at its best.
February 22, 2021
Amazing set of mysterious, spooky stories!!
August 6, 2021
This was a great collection with stories that ran the gamut from thoughtful to creepy, to downright nightmarish. Let's just say - a Twilight Zone fueled by Black culture and identity. I've purchased and gifted multiple copies.
If you have any interest in ghost stories, magic, and things that go bump in the night, you will not be disappointed!
If you have any interest in ghost stories, magic, and things that go bump in the night, you will not be disappointed!
May 3, 2021
This is a complication of short stories from a an independent publisher of short stories and narrative essays by Black woman authors. I hadn't realized it was originally a literary magazine when I bought it. It had received good reviews on a female focused sci-fi/fantasy blog, so I decided to try it out. I want my authors to be a mix and I want to support women, queer and POC writers where I can.
Unfortunately, as a literary magazine, the quality of the stories were a mixed bag. Some of them were phenomenal and some of them were okay. I was also expecting short stories and a lot of them were only a few a pages, which isn't my cup of a tea.
My favorite story, "Watchers," was about a group of people in Africa that have super-powers and how the rest of the world does not. I liked their creed very much, although without the book in front of me I can't quote it directly. It was something like: "first ourselves, then our people, then Africa."
While this complication was only okay for me, I do recommend the website: "midnightandindigo.com" to anyone who has interest in enjoying and supporting Black women authors. There are a lot of interesting essays on the site, free of charge.
Unfortunately, as a literary magazine, the quality of the stories were a mixed bag. Some of them were phenomenal and some of them were okay. I was also expecting short stories and a lot of them were only a few a pages, which isn't my cup of a tea.
My favorite story, "Watchers," was about a group of people in Africa that have super-powers and how the rest of the world does not. I liked their creed very much, although without the book in front of me I can't quote it directly. It was something like: "first ourselves, then our people, then Africa."
While this complication was only okay for me, I do recommend the website: "midnightandindigo.com" to anyone who has interest in enjoying and supporting Black women authors. There are a lot of interesting essays on the site, free of charge.
March 27, 2021
Full disclosure, I didn’t read the entire book. 👀 I read over half the stories before giving myself permission to put the book aside. It turns out that I’m not a huge fan of short stories. Who knew? (Not me. 😅 But now I do!)
Giving this book four stars anyway because:
1. I love what Midnight & Indigo is doing.
2. The book made me feel—even if I didn’t always like said feelings. (Speculative fiction + my empathic personality can be tricky.)
3. Of the stories I DID read, most were what I’d call good with powerful writing. (A few I simply didn’t care for, and I think that’s normal in a compilation of 22 different authors.)
So thank you, Midnight & Indigo for putting this book together! Thank you to the writers who contributed their creativity and imagination to this work! If you’re into speculative fiction and like short stories, I think you’ll be happy with this book. :)
Giving this book four stars anyway because:
1. I love what Midnight & Indigo is doing.
2. The book made me feel—even if I didn’t always like said feelings. (Speculative fiction + my empathic personality can be tricky.)
3. Of the stories I DID read, most were what I’d call good with powerful writing. (A few I simply didn’t care for, and I think that’s normal in a compilation of 22 different authors.)
So thank you, Midnight & Indigo for putting this book together! Thank you to the writers who contributed their creativity and imagination to this work! If you’re into speculative fiction and like short stories, I think you’ll be happy with this book. :)
March 14, 2021
Why would I read a story written to horrify? Don't I know my own limits? What was I thinking? Like the silly person in the scary movie, she (why so often she?) reaches for the door knob, climbs the stairs, inches down the hallway, always towards that terrifying mystery to be revealed. The entire audience is shrieking, "Don't do it!" but she does.
This anthology is fabulous, not all are terrifying but the first tale haunts my dreams. I should have known not to go there, I tried not to read it but...
Resistance is futile. Read the first story in this book set and remember, you have been warned.
This anthology is fabulous, not all are terrifying but the first tale haunts my dreams. I should have known not to go there, I tried not to read it but...
Resistance is futile. Read the first story in this book set and remember, you have been warned.
January 28, 2021
I completely loved this. The scope of “horror” across the stories varied greatly, as did the lengths of the stories. Amazing POC characters, use of horror genre to explore trauma and violence committed against marginalized communities, accessible and spooky—this got me out of my short story rut for sure! Will for sure buy more work from this editor/publishing house/authors.
February 9, 2021
Different Stories
These stories were amazing. While I may not have loved every single story there were no bad ones. They brought horror, thriller, hope and despair. Not all of them had happy endings which made them interesting to read because you did not know how it was going to end.
These stories were amazing. While I may not have loved every single story there were no bad ones. They brought horror, thriller, hope and despair. Not all of them had happy endings which made them interesting to read because you did not know how it was going to end.
October 12, 2021
This is the 4th issue of Midnight & Indigo and the second one I read. This collection is focused on the speculative genres: fantasy, dystopian and sci-fi.
Favourite story: The Watchers
Most unsettling: But a Little Lignin Usually Remains
Other stories that stood out to me (in order of appearance):
- Down the Kent County Trail
- Watercolors
Favourite story: The Watchers
Most unsettling: But a Little Lignin Usually Remains
Other stories that stood out to me (in order of appearance):
- Down the Kent County Trail
- Watercolors
comments-did-not-finish
November 8, 2025Can anyone tell me the title and author of the story from this that focused on a guy and his girlfriend aging backwards? I swear I think about it at least once a week. I read that story during my lunch break at work and it was marked as missing by the library when I went back to find the title/author and read more later on. Thanks in advance!
November 21, 2020
There were some really creepy and cool stories in here, and plenty that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end! I thoroughly enjoyed these short stories and look forward to reading the other volumes since this was the first I've read.
January 2, 2021
A wonderful collection of short stories that weave personal, social, and cultural threads into a canvas of beauty and pain. In some pieces, the imagery is so moving, when the allegory washes over you, you feel it in your mind and spirit.
December 11, 2025
We loved The Apple and the Pear and Lay Me Down to Sleep.
Some of the short stories were extremely creative and out of the box.
We didn't care much for You Without Me, the writing was a bit purple prose-y.
Overall, the stories were hit or miss.
Some of the short stories were extremely creative and out of the box.
We didn't care much for You Without Me, the writing was a bit purple prose-y.
Overall, the stories were hit or miss.
December 15, 2020
So many interesting stories. It's hard to pick a favorite! Great work from so many different WOC!
August 4, 2021
I enjoyed this
Some of the stories were pretty good and others were ok. Some of the ending either confused me or were left as cliffhangers.
Some of the stories were pretty good and others were ok. Some of the ending either confused me or were left as cliffhangers.
June 23, 2022
Always tough to rate a collection of stories; some of these I really enjoyed, some less so. Definitely gave me some new authors to look for though!
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews