April 10, 2010
Broadway
Available 03/02/10 in Paperback
Poignant and powerful, this debut collection from preeminent writer and critic Jabari Asim heralds his arrival as an exciting new voice in African American fiction.
Through a series of fictional episodes set against the backdrop of one of the most turbulent years in modern history, Asim brings into pin-sharp focus how the tumultuous events of ‘68 affected real people’s lives and shaped the country we live in today. The sixteen connected stories in this exciting debut are set in the fictional Midwestern town of Gateway City, where second generation off-spring of the Great Migrators have pieced together a thriving, if fragile existence. With police brutality on the rise, the civil rights movement gaining momentum, and wars raging at home and abroad, Asim has conjured a community that stands on edge. But it is the individual struggles with love, childrearing, adolescence, etc, lyrically chronicled here, that create a piercing portrait of humanity.
In I’d Rather Go Blind and Zombies, young Crispus Jones, who while sensitive to the tremors of upheaval around him is still much more concerned with his crush on neighbor Polly and if he’s ever going to be as cool as his brother. When Ray Mortimer, a white cop, kills the owner of his favorite candy store, Crispus becomes aware of malice even more scary than zombies and the ghost that he thinks may be haunting his house.
In The Wheat from the Tares and A Virtuous Woman, Rose Whittier deals with her abusive husband with a desperate resignation until his past catches up with him and she’s given a second chance at love. And Gabriel, her suitor, realizes that his whole-hearted commitment to The Struggle may have to give way for his own shot at romance.
And in Ashes to Ashes we see how a single act of despicable violence in their childhoods cements a lasting connection between two unlikely friends.
From Crispus’ tender innocence to Ray Mortimer’s near pure evil, to Rose’s quiet determination, the characters in this book and their journeys showcase a world that is brimming with grace and meaning and showcases the talents of a writer at the top of his game.
September 4, 2009
The Venus Pen by Tanya Hodges
Late last fall, EbonyJet.com announced the online only re-launch of the popular Gertrude Johnson Williams Short Story Fiction Competition, a project initially started in 1990 by JPC’s founder, John H. Johnson. The competition was named in tribute to Mr. Johnson’s mother, Gertrude Johnson Williams, an avid fan of reading and supporter of the literary arts.
The response was, in a word, overwhelming. Hundreds of entries streamed in within hours of announcing the contest, with the bulk showing up just prior to the final deadline.
In the past, a small group of noted judges made an initial cut from the entries, and the editors of Ebony selected the final winners. This time we decided to reverse the process. Eric Easter and Terry Glover of EbonyJet.com made the preliminary cuts to the semi-finalist round, and a team of star authors including mystery writer Walter Mosley, novelist Trey Ellis, author Sandra Jackson-Opoku and Ebony senior writer Joy Bennett (daughter of Lerone Bennett, Jr.) scored the final selections.
The final competition was tight, with only fractions of a score separating the final winner from the five finalists. But in the end the story with the highest score was The Venus Pen, by Alabama amateur writer and substitute teacher, Tanya Hodges.
The text of the story appears in the July issue of Ebony Magazine.
Ebony Jet
March 22, 2009
Some Like It Hot by Brenda Jackson
Available 04/28/09
In this first ever short story collection, New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson takes us on five steamy, sexy adventures. From a freelance writer whose interview with a ruthless, ambitious, and very handsome millionaire turns into something so much more to an attorney’s explosive encounter with a sexy club owner. From an event planner’s very steamy night with an old flame to a businesswoman who wants to get back the man she let slip away while climbing the ladder of success. Experience just how much Brenda Jackson can turn up the heat!
June 6, 2008
Politics Noir: Dark Tales from the Corridors of Power (Paperback)
edited by Gary Phillips
From authors including National Book Award winner Pete Hautman, Deadly Ink 2007 winner Darrell James, and renowned social commentator turned short-story writer Mike Davis, a chilling and subversive collection of new crime stories with stark themes of greed, corruption and insatiable ambition in the very highest places.
With stories by:
• Ken Bruen
• Mike Davis
• Robert Greer
• Pete Hautman
• Darrell James
• Jake Lamar
• Michele Matinez
• Twist Phelan
• John Shannon
• Ken Wishnia
• and others
June 6, 2008
The Darker Mask
by Gary Phillips, Christopher Chambers (Author)
To be released on August 19, 2008.
Expanding on the concept behind Byron Preiss’s Weird Heroes from the 1970s, George R. R. Martin’s Wild Card series, and Michael Chabon’s McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales, The Darker Mask is a collection of original prose stories recalling the derring-do of the beings we call Superheroes and the worlds they fight to save. But unique to The Darker Mask stories is that these plots and characters color a literary universe outside of what has been predominantly white, idiosyncratic, and male in previous homages to pulp. This is the stuff of urban legends, new mythos, and extraordinary folks who might live in a soon-to-be-gentrified ghetto, the dreary rust-belt of the city, or in another dimension. The Darker Mask offers an eclectic mix of popular fiction writers exploring worlds gritty, visceral, and fantastic.
Including stories by: Walter Mosley, L. A. Banks, Naomi Hirahara, Lorenzo Carcaterra, Tananarive Due and Stephen Barnes, Mike Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, Ann Nocenti, Jerry Rodriguez, Reed Farrell Coleman, Doselle Young, Mat Johnson, Peter Spiegelman, Alexandra Sokoloff, Christopher Chambers, Gary Phillips, Victor LaValle, and Wayne Wilson.
May 31, 2008
The Dark Sides of a Woman: A Collection of Short Stories
by Queen Goddess
The Dark Sides Of a Woman is a short story collection that provides a realistic look at the diversity of women in all kinds of relationships — heterosexual, bisexual, homosexual, and interracial — and how they deal with all types of adversity.
As a woman, dealing with relationships can be fraught with difficulties. Author Queen Goddess discusses the anguish that women experience in making tough decisions, not only to please themselves, but also to accommodate the opinions of family and friends.
Passionate and emotional, the moral lessons in The Dark Sides of a Woman thoroughly
examine the strife that women experience in relationships. Whether they deal with deceit, rejection, humiliation, or controversy, Goddess shows how women call on their courage and strength to conquer these challenges.
