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Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History

In 1514 Hungary, peasants who rose up against the nobility rise again – from the grave. In 1633 Al-Shouf, a mother keeps demons at bay with the combined power of grief and music. In 1775 Paris, as social tensions come to a boil, a courtesan tries to save the woman she loves. In 1838 Georgia, a pregnant woman’s desperate escape from slavery comes with a terrible price. In 1900 Ilocos Norte, a forest spirit helps a young girl defend her land from American occupiers.

These gripping stories have been passed down through the generations, hidden between the lines of journal entries and love letters. Now 27 of today’s finest authors – including Tananarive Due, Sofia Samatar, Ken Liu, Victor LaValle, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sabrina Vourvoulias – reveal the people whose lives have been pushed to the margins of history.

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Fierce Family

Strong, united families are rarely portrayed in speculative fiction. They’re often dysfunctional, combative, self-destructive, or miserable, when they’re portrayed at all. This is especially true for non-nuclear and adoptive families, single parent families and families with no children, which are easy targets for invalidation. And QUILTBAG families are almost never portrayed in speculative fiction, regardless of whether their families are loving or falling apart.

15 exhilarating stories of QUILTBAG families experiencing adventure, disaster, and triumph make up Fierce Family. They are families of any constellation: all sizes and configurations, families of choice as well as families by birth. They are caring and connected – when outside conflict arises, they come together to defend and aid one another. Fiercely, and without hesitation.

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Oomph: A Little Super Goes a Long Way

It’s easy to save the day when you’re invulnerable, can fly, or can punch through steel. But what if you’re just… really calloused? Or can hover for three seconds? Or can only punch through things made of aluminum?

Oomph: A Little Super Goes a Long Way explores what it takes to be a superhero with just a little bit of power, where heroes and heroines use their small gifts to great advantage.

Sometimes you don’t need a big lever to move the world.

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Winter Well: Speculative novellas about older women

“This collection is important and necessary, successfully demonstrating the many ways in which women’s stories needn’t end with youth. ”

–Publishers Weekly (STARRED review)

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Menial: Skilled Labor in Science Fiction

From the literal guts of a spaceship, to the energy-starved lands of a future Earth, to the inhospitable surfaces of other planets, MENIAL explores the stories of people who understand and maintain the building blocks of civilization. They work hard, live hard, and love hard. They’re not afraid to build the future they want to live in, even knowing the often high human cost of hard labor.

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Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias

“A specific cultural perspective doesn’t simply inform Ink; it embodies it fully – in setting, characterizations, plot, points of view, themes, and style. As with Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, and Octavia Butler’s Kindred, Vourvoulias’ Ink also offers transformative potential. For the social, spiritual, and personal value of engaging a cultural perspective that can simultaneously call for and make possible meaningful and positive social change in the world, every American adult should read this book right now.”

–Morgen Rich

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Salsa Nocturna by Daniel José Older

“These are stories of the magic in cities, of the life in death, of the hope that even the most cynical of people still feel deep down. It had everything I wanted: noir and horror and mystery and fantasy, all mixed up and flavored with fresh attitude. And I loved every bit of it.”

-NK Jemisin

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Fat Girl in a Strange Land

“This is for everyone who wanted a smart, determined female protagonist as teenagers.”

–Lillian Cohen-Moore

An anthology of science fiction and fantasy short stories of fat women protagonists traveling to distant and undiscovered realms.

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Subversion: Science Fiction & Fantasy tales of challenging the norm

“There are few things as enjoyable as a book full of good ideas being dealt with in a thoughtful and intelligent fashion, and this is one of those books.”

– SF Signal

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Broken Slate by Kelly Jennings

“This deft dissection of a mind under siege from an oppressive social system is tense and compelling. I couldn’t put it down till I hit the last page.”

– Cat Rambo, Endeavor Award-nominated author of Eyes Like Sky and Coal and Moonlight

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For review copies please email publicity @ crossedgenres.com.