CATALOG APRIL–AUGUST 2021 CONTENTS

FORTHCOMING TITLES PAGES 1–18

LYRICPOP PAGES 1–6 BLACK SHEEP PAGES 7 ZIGGY MARLEY PAGES 8–9 KAYLIE JONES BOOKS PAGE 14 AKASHIC NOIR SERIES PAGES 15–16

CURRENT TOP SELLERS PAGES 18–22

SALES & RIGHTS INFORMATION PAGE 23

AKASHIC BOOKS 232 Third Street, #A115, Brooklyn, NY 11215 TEL: 718.643.9193 FAX: 718.643.9195 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.akashicbooks.com

JOHNNY TEMPLE, Publisher, Editor in Chief ([email protected]) JOHANNA INGALLS, Managing Editor, Foreign Rights Director ([email protected]) IBRAHIM AHMAD, Editorial Director ([email protected]) AARON PETROVICH, Production Manager ([email protected]) SUSANNAH LAWRENCE, Director of Publicity and Social Media ([email protected]) SOHRAB HABIBION, Art/Design/Social Media ([email protected]) CATALOG AND COVER DESIGN: Aaron Petrovich & Sohrab Habibion COVER ART: TG Design (A River Called Time, page 10) PRINTED IN CANADA

AKASHIC BOOKS is an award-winning independent company dedicated to publishing literary fiction and political nonfiction by authors who are either ignored by the mainstream, or who have no interest in working within the ever-consolidating ranks of the major corporate publishers. Akashic Books hosts additional imprints, including the Akashic Noir Series, the Akashic Drug Chronicles Series, Black Sheep Books for Young Readers, the Akashic Urban Surreal Series, Punk Planet Books, Dennis Cooper’s Little House on the Bowery Series, Open Lens, Chris Abani’s Black Goat Poetry Series, Infamous Books, Peekash Press, Kaylie Jones Books, Dave Zirin’s Edge of Sports, LyricPop, and Ann Hood’s Gracie Belle.

BLACK BOOKS SHEEP KAYLIE JONES FORTHCOMING/LYRICPOP STRAWBERRY SWING A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK SONG LYRICS BY COLDPLAY ILLUSTRATIONS BY MITCH MILLER

Coldplay’s warm and infectious hit song “Strawberry Swing” finds a perfect vessel in this gentle picture book for children.

“I remember We were walking up to strawberry swing I can’t wait till the morning Wouldn’t wanna change a thing . . .”

STRAWBERRY SWING is a tenderly illustrated picture book of one of Cold- play’s best known songs. It was the fifth single released from their hit album JUNE 2021 Viva la Vida, and gained widespread acclaim for its accompanying stop-motion animation music video. juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25

WITH LYRICS BY COLDPLAY and illustrations by Mitch Miller, Strawberry Swing tells a sweet story of hardcover friendship, encapsulating the innocence, fun, and struggle of finding someone special—and wanting $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-840-9 e-book to share every moment with them. The book provides an excellent opportunity to introduce Coldplay’s $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-949-9 irresistible melodies to children who will delight in both the music and the message.

COLDPLAY are a British rock band that formed in 1996, and have since sold over 100 million records and won numerous accolades including seven GRAMMY Awards, nine BRIT Awards, and seven Billboard Music Awards. The band consists of five members—Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, Will Champion, and creative director Phil Harvey. They rose to fame when they released their hit song “Yel- low” in 2000, and their song “The Scientist” was named as one of the “100 Greatest Songs of the Century” by Rolling Stone. The band continues to produce music that tops charts worldwide.

LyricPop presents your favorite song lyrics by renowned songwriters as illustrated picture books, instilling a love of music and song among young readers.

MITCH MILLER is an illustrator and visual development artist. He has created work for companies in- cluding Yahoo! and Cricket Media. Miller lives in Pennsylvania with his border collie, Willem.

1 FORTHCOMING/LYRICPOP 59TH STREET BRIDGE SONG A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK SONG LYRICS BY PAUL SIMON ILLUSTRATIONS BY KEITH HENRY BROWN Paul Simon’s groovy anthem to New York City provides a joyful basis for this live-for-the-day picture book.

“Slow down, you move too fast You got to make the mornin’ last Just kicking down the cobblestones Lookin’ for fun and feelin’ groovy . . .”

THE 59TH STREET BRIDGE SONG is a lively picture book based on legendary songwriter Paul Simon’s classic hit, created when he was one half of the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. The song first appeared on their 1966 album JUNE 2021 juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. In the US, the album peaked at #4 on Billboard’s weekly Top 200 al- 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25 bums chart, and eventually went on to sell over three million copies in the US.

hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-798-3 WITH SONG LYRICS BY SIMON and illustrations by Keith Henry Brown, this picture book follows a rab-

e-book bit cycling through town, going about his day, and pausing to admire the “groovy” and lovable aspects $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-933-8 of his surroundings. The 59th Street Bridge Song provides parents a perfect vehicle to teach kids an ap- preciation of life’s little gifts.

PAUL SIMON has received many honors and prizes including twelve GRAMMY Awards, three of which— for Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland—were albums of the year. In 2003 he received a GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as half of the duo Simon & Gar- funkel. He is a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, a recipient of their Johnny Mercer Award, and is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame both as a member of Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist. His song “Mrs. Robinson” from the motion picture The Graduate was named in the top ten of the American Film Institute’s 100 Years . . . 100 Songs list. KEITH HENRY BROWN (illustrator) worked briefly at Marvel before beginning a career as an art director, working for such notable spots as Jazz at Lincoln Center and Blue Note, as well as many music labels. He recently illustrated his first children’s book, Birth of the Cool: How Jazz Great Miles Davis Found His Sound. For more information, visit www.keithhbrown.com. 2 FORTHCOMING/LYRICPOP WHERE IS MY MIND? A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK SONG LYRICS BY BLACK FRANCIS ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALEX EBEN MEYER Black Francis’s cult classic song from Pixies’ album Surfer Rosa is brought to life as a whimsical adventure story in this vibrant picture book.

“Where is my mind? Where is my mind? Way out in the water See it swimmin’ . . .”

WHERE IS MY MIND? is an imaginative picture book based on Black Francis’s lyrics to one of Pixies’ most beloved songs. The song was released on their certified-gold album Surfer Rosa, and later appeared in the film Fight Club. JUNE 2021 juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 PARENTS AND CHILDREN ALIKE will delight in following the story of a young girl who loses her mind 32 pages, 8.25 x 8.25 when she falls off a skateboard, then travels to magical lands in search of it. Brilliantly illustrated by Alex hardcover Eben Meyer, Where Is My Mind? is a celebration of creativity, both in song and story. $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-843-0 e-book BLACK FRANCIS, aka Frank Black, was born Charles Thompson IV in 1965 in Boston, MA. He is the lead $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-932-1 vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band Pixies, which he formed in the mid-1980s while attending UMass Amherst. Named one of VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock,” Pixies disbanded in 1993 after four albums and one EP. Francis continued to have a successful solo career, and in 2004, Pixies reunited for their first tour in more than a decade, playing sold-out shows across North America and Europe. Pix- ies remain one of the most important bands of the era, having influenced musicians such as Kurt Cobain, shinn Thom Yorke, and many others. travis

ALEX EBEN MEYER (illustrator) lives in Brooklyn, and works in a studio that was formerly a pencil fac- tory. He and his brain have a very nice relationship, and are virtually inseparable. He illustrated the pic- ture books Hero vs. Villain and Creature vs. Teacher.

3 FORTHCOMING/LYRICPOP DREAM WEAVER A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK SONG LYRICS BY GARY WRIGHT ILLUSTRATIONS BY ROB SAYEGH JR. Gary Wright’s hit song is reimagined as a fantastical picture book to delight dreamers of all ages.

“Oo-hoo dream weaver I believe you can get me through the night Oo-hoo dream weaver I believe we can reach the morning light . . .”

DREAM WEAVER IS A VIBRANTLY ILLUSTRATED picture book based on Gary Wright’s 1975 breakout single from his platinum-selling album The Dream Weaver, which has sold over two million copies. “Dream Weaver” JUNE 2021 juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 peaked at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and reached #1 in Canada. The song’s popularity continued 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25 long after its release, and in 1991, Wright recorded a new version for the Wayne’s World soundtrack; the hardcover soundtrack reached #1 on Billboard’s soundtrack album chart and also sold over two million copies. $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-857-7 “Dream Weaver” continues to appear in films and TV shows to this day. e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-931-4 WITH LYRICS BY GARY WRIGHT and illustrations by Rob Sayegh Jr., this magical picture book follows a little boy’s dream of a train that takes him all the way to the moon. Poised to become a bedtime classic, Dream Weaver provides the perfect opportunity for parents to share this timeless song and will surely spark the imaginations of young and old alike.

GARY WRIGHT is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his multiplatinum hits “Dream Weaver” and “Love Is Alive.” Before his solo album The Dream Weaver was released in 1975, Wright played in the London music scene with the heavy rock band Spooky Tooth and also collaborated with both George Harrison and Ringo Starr. The Dream Weaver was certified platinum, with its hit single “Dream Weaver” reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Wright continues to perform live as a solo act, as well as with both Spooky Tooth and Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band. His autobiography, Dream Weaver: Music, Meditation, and My Friendship with George Harrison, was published in 2014.

4 FORTHCOMING/LYRICPOP I WILL SURVIVE A CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK SONG LYRICS BY DINO FEKARIS AND FREDERICK J. PERREN ILLUSTRATIONS BY KAITLYN SHEA O’CONNOR Dino Fekaris and Frederick J. Perren’s disco hit sensation “I Will Survive” —popularized by Gloria Gaynor—comes to life as an empowering picture book featuring an alien princess living life on her own terms.

“I will survive Oh, as long as I know how to love, I know I’ll stay alive I’ve got all my life to live And I’ve got all my love to give and I’ll survive . . .”

I WILL SURVIVE IS AN EMPOWERING PICTURE BOOK based on Dino Fekaris and Frederick J. Perren’s #1 hit song. Gloria Gaynor’s recording in 1978 JUNE 2021 became her signature song and was a near-instant success, topping both the Billboard Hot 100 chart juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 and the UK Singles chart. Considered one of the most important disco offerings ever and embraced by 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25 millions across the globe, it remains an anthem and inspiration for marginalized groups everywhere. hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-913-0

e-book KAITLYN SHEA O’CONNOR’S IMAGINATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS set I Will Survive in a futuristic alien $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-946-8 landscape where our heroine demonstrates her strength and resilience by striking out on her own to a boundless future. I Will Survive will inspire children to follow their dreams, while giving parents and grandparents everywhere a chance to show off some of their best disco moves.

KAITLYN SHEA O’CONNOR (illustrator) is an illustrator and designer hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. She combines traditional skills with digital media to create vibrant, whimsical worlds. She’s a rare hybrid of dog and cat lover, an avid whistler, and she enjoys exploring the great outdoors, trying new cheeses, and cozying up in a nook with a book. O’Connor illustrated the children’s picture books We Got the Beat, with song lyrics by Charlotte Caffey, and (Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay, with song lyrics by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper.

5 CURRENT TOP SELLERS/LYRICPOP

AFRICAN More SONG LYRICS BY PETER TOSH ILLUSTRATIONS BY RACHEL MOSS children’s books JUNE 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 32 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-799-0 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-830-0 from LyricPop! DON’T STOP SONG LYRICS BY CHRISTINE McVIE ILLUSTRATIONS BY NUSHA ASHJAEE JUNE 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-805-8 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-831-7 GOOD VIBRATIONS SONG LYRICS BY MIKE LOVE AND BRIAN WILSON ILLUSTRATIONS BY PAUL HOPPE JUNE 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 32 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-787-7 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-833-1 HUMBLE AND KIND SONG LYRICS BY LORI McKENNA ILLUSTRATIONS BY KATHERINE BLACKMORE MARCH 2021, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 32 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-852-2 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-902-4 MOVE THE CROWD SONG LYRICS BY ERIC BARRIER AND WILLIAM GRIFFIN ILLUSTRATIONS BY KIRK PARRISH OCTOBER 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 32 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-849-2 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-900-0 RESPECT SONG LYRICS BY OTIS REDDING ILLUSTRATIONS BY RACHEL MOSS OCTOBER 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-844-7 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-899-7 (SITTIN’ ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY SONG LYRICS BY OTIS REDDING AND STEVE CROPPER ILLUSTRATIONS BY KAITLYN SHEA O’CONNOR MARCH 2021, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-850-8 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-901-7 THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKIN’ SONG LYRICS BY LEE HAZLEWOOD ILLUSTRATIONS BY RACHEL MOSS OCTOBER 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-875-1 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-904-8 WE GOT THE BEAT SONG LYRICS BY CHARLOTTE CAFFEY ILLUSTRATIONS BY KAITLYN SHEA O’CONNOR OCTOBER 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 24 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-836-2 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-898-0 WE’RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT SONG LYRICS BY DEE SNIDER ILLUSTRATIONS BY MARGARET McCARTNEY JUNE 2020, juvenile fiction/ages 0-7, 32 pages, 8.25 x 8.25, hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-788-4 | e-book $9.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-834-8 6 FORTHCOMING/BLACK SHEEP THEY BETTER CALL ME SUGAR A YOUNG ADULT MEMOIR BY SUGAR RODGERS In unflinchingly honest prose, Sugar Rodgers shares her inspiring story of overcoming tremendous odds to become an all-star in the WNBA. GROWING UP IN DIRE POVERTY in Suffolk, Virginia, Sugar (born Ta’Shauna) Rodgers never imagined that she would become an all-star player in the WNBA (Women’s National Basketball Association). Both of her siblings were in and out of prison throughout much of her childhood and shootings in her neigh- borhood were commonplace. For Sugar this was just a fact of life. WHILE ACADEMICS WEREN’T A HIGH PRIORITY for Sugar and many of her friends, athletics always MAY 2021 juvenile nonfiction/african american studies played a prominent role. She mastered her three-point shot on a net her brother put up just outside 176 pages, 5.25 x 8.25 their home, eventually becoming so good that she could hustle local drug dealers out of money in trade paperback one-on-one contests. $14.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-929-1 e-book WITH THE LOVE AND SUPPORT of her family and friends, Sugar’s performance on her high school $14.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-971-0 translation rights: akashic basketball team led to her recruitment by the Georgetown Hoyas, and her eventual draft into the WNBA in 2013 by the Minnesota Lynx (who won the WNBA championship in Sugar’s first year). The first of her family to attend college, Sugar speaks of her struggles both academically and as an athlete with raw honesty. SUGAR’S ROAD TO A SUCCESSFUL CAREER as a professional basketball player is fraught with sad- ness and death—including her mother’s death when she’s fourteen, which leaves Sugar essentially homeless. Throughout it all, Sugar clings to basketball as a way to keep herself focused and sane. AND NOW SUGAR SHARES HER STORY as a message of hope and inspiration for young girls and boys everywhere, but especially those growing up in economically challenging conditions. Never su- garcoating her life experiences, she delivers a powerful message of discipline, perseverance, and always believing in oneself. SUGAR RODGERS is a professional basketball player currently playing in the WNBA for the Las Vegas Aces. She honed her skills as a young girl growing up in Suffolk, VA, by shooting hoops with neighbor- hood drug dealers before eventually being recruited by the Georgetown Hoyas, making her the first person in her family to attend college. She graduated Georgetown as the leading scorer of all time, and was drafted by the Minnesota Lynx in 2013. She also played several seasons with the New York Liberty before being traded to Las Vegas in 2019. She was named to the WNBA All-Star team for her 2017 sea- son with the New York Liberty. also available from akashic books:

We Matter: Athletes and Activism NONFICTION/SPORTS, 320 PAGES; PAPERBACK, $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-591-0; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-612-2 “Before Kaepernick, there was Etan Thomas.” —New York Times “Thomas interviews athletes, coaches, and sports personalities as he covers topics related to activism from the sporting realm and how it is perceived in America. A necessary read.” —Library Journal, A Best Book of 2018

”An important read, executed uniquely.” —School Library Journal, starred review

7 FORTHCOMING/ZIGGY MARLEY MY DOG ROMEO BY ZIGGY MARLEY ILLUSTRATED BY AG JATKOWSKA Ziggy Marley’s ode to his four-legged friend Romeo becomes a picture book that is sure to touch the hearts of dog lovers everywhere.

“MY DOG ROMEO”—A SINGLE ON MORE FAMILY TIME, the follow-up chil- dren’s album to the GRAMMY Award–winning Family Time—is a playful and endearing tribute to Ziggy Marley’s beloved pet dog Romeo. Opening with Ro- meo’s barking, Marley sings of his great love and friendship with his four-legged friend.

NOW, WITH BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS BY AG JATKOWSKA— illustrator of Marley’s debut picture book, I Love You Too—My Dog Romeo becomes a vi- brant picture book that follows a child and a dog throughout their days, sharing MAY 2021 juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 their love of music and play. The perfect accompaniment to Marley’s charming children’s album, My 32 pages, 9.333 x 8.0875 Dog Romeo is sure to be a hit among young, old, and, of course, our furry friends. hardcover $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-942-0 e-book AN EIGHT-TIME GRAMMY AWARD WINNER, $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-944-4 translation rights: akashic Emmy Award winner, author, philanthropist, and reggae icon, ZIGGY MARLEY has released thir- teen albums to much critical acclaim. His early immersion in music came at age ten when he sat in on recording sessions with his father, Bob Mar- ley. Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers released eight best-selling albums that garnered three GRAMMYs. Ziggy’s second solo release, Love Is My Religion, won a GRAMMY in 2006 for Best Reggae Album. His third solo studio album, Family Time, scored a fifth GRAMMY award for Best Children’s Album. 2016 marked the release of Marley’s self- titled album, which garnered his eighth GRAMMY. Marley’s new children’s album, More Family Time, was released in September 2020 via Tuff Gong Worldwide.

8 FORTHCOMING/ZIGGY MARLEY MUSIC IS IN EVERYTHING BY ZIGGY MARLEY ILLUSTRATED BY AG JATKOWSKA A picture book based on Ziggy Marley’s popular song celebrating music’s many forms, from the sounds of ocean waves to laugher in the family kitchen.

“MUSIC IS IN EVERYTHING”—A SINGLE ON MORE FAMILY TIME, the follow- up children’s album to the GRAMMY Award–winning Family Time—celebrates how music is found in everything. From ocean waves to banging pots and pans in the kitchen, from a loved one’s laughter to the “river’s latest tune,” Marley reminds children everywhere that you don’t need an instrument to create a beautiful song. WITH HEARTFELT ILLUSTRATIONS BY AG JATKOWSKA—illustrator of Mar- ley’s debut picture book, I Love You Too—Music Is in Everything is a sweet and MAY 2021 juvenile fiction/ages 0-7 uplifting ode to the power and beauty of song. 24 pages, 9.333 x 8.0875

hardcover also by ziggy marley and available from akashic books: $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-943-7

e-book I Love You Too CHILDREN’S PICTURE BOOK, 48 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-310-7; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-340-4 $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-945-1 translation rights: akashic “A sweetly affectionate ode to togetherness and love.” —Publishers Weekly “Lyrics inspired by an exchange with Marley’s 3-year-old daughter are set to bright paintings of a multicultural cast of chil- dren and adults enjoying each other’s company indoors and out . . . The art will draw and hold young children’s attention.” —Kirkus Reviews “Sure to be a hit at bedtime, the lyrical story conveys the sweet, soothing, and affirming message.” —School Library Journal “The emphasis of this book is that love has no boundaries.” —New York Journal of Books “This looks to be on our home charts for weeks, months, maybe even years.” —Austin Chronicle

Ziggy Marley and Family Cookbook NONFICTION/COOKING, 120 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $24.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-943-7; E-BOOK, $13.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-945-1 “[Ziggy’s] first collection of recipes pays homage to the flavors of his youth and the food he loves to cook for his wife and five children.” —People “The musician, his family, and a few well-known chefs all contributed recipes, which are vibrant with fresh vegetables, herbs, and signature Jamaican ingredients like allspice berries and Scotch bonnet peppers . . . Readers will enjoy the vivid, colorful photos of the food and Marley’s family.” —Booklist “The famous reggae star shows how to make healthy, Jamaican-inspired fish and vegetarian dishes.” —Fresno Bee “With a health-focused approach, Ziggy Marley reveals memories and food traditions in his new family cookbook.” —Ebony “A medley of lively recipes like Roasted Yam Tart and Coconut Dream Fish.” —Family Circle “Ziggy Marley might not be the first name that springs to mind when you’re looking for some meal time inspo, but the veggie and vegan recipes from the musician’s book is set to be your new go-to source for delicious food.” —Veggie magazine (UK)

9 FORTHCOMING A RIVER CALLED TIME A NOVEL BY COURTTIA NEWLAND A monumental speculative fiction story of love, loyalty, politics, and conscience, set in parallel Londons. “Courttia Newland’s writing is rich with passion and humanity. He manages to convey great depth with- out ever losing his lightness of touch. A rare feat only reserved for the few.” —Steve McQueen, Academy Award–winning film director

“A River Called Time is a masterful reimagining of the African diaspora’s influence on England, and on APRIL 2021 science fiction the world. It’s a grand tale and still an intimate portrait of loss and love. What glory and influence would 448 pages, 6 x 9 Africa enjoy if colonialism had never occurred? Courttia Newland reshapes our vision of the past, pres- hardcover $29.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-926-0 ent, and future by taking this one question seriously. The result is something truly special. No other way

e-book to put it, this book is true Black magic.” —Victor LaValle, author of The Changeling $29.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-936-9 translation rights: akashic “A River Called Time is a real gem of a book. There are so many brilliant parallels drawn between the world we live in as well as gentle prods toward the reality we could create. I had my hands on my face throughout the end of the book as shock after shock was delivered. A River Called Time is an excellent, beautiful read that will make you think while taking your breath away.” —Dorothy Koomson, author of Tell Me Your Secret

THE ARK WAS BUILT to save the lives of the many, but rapidly became a refuge for the elite, the en- trance closed without warning. YEARS AFTER THE ARK WAS CUT OFF from the world—a world much like our own, but in which slav- ery has never existed—a chance of survival within the Ark’s confines is granted to a select few who can prove their worth. Among their number is Markriss Denny, whose path to future excellence is marred only by a closely guarded secret: without warning, his spirit leaves his body, allowing him to see and experience a world far beyond his physical limitations. ONCE INSIDE THE ARK, Denny learns of another with the same power, whose existence could spell catastrophe for humanity. He is forced into a desperate race to understand his abilities, and in doing so uncovers the truth about the Ark, himself, and the people he thought he once knew. COURTTIA NEWLAND is the author of seven books including his much-lauded debut, The Scholar. His latest novel, The Gospel According to Cane, was published by Akashic in 2013. In 2016 he was awarded the Roland Rees Bursary for playwriting. As a screenwriter, he has written two episodes of the Steve McQueen BBC series Small Axe.

also available from akashic books:

The Gospel According to Cane FICTION, 256 PAGES; PAPERBACK, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-133-2 “A mother’s love is unbreakable, as Frank O’Connor Award–nominee Newland demonstrates in his latest novel . . . The storytelling is as captivating as the story itself. Newland, a Jamaican-born British writer, seamlessly integrates the joy, fear, uncertainty, and sadness . . . Newland’s prose is beautiful. His novel—part homecoming narrative in the vein of Toni Morrison’s Beloved and part haunting tale of loss similar to Ernest Gaines’s In My Father’s House—will appeal to all lovers of literary fiction.” —Library Journal

10 FORTHCOMING

FACE: one square foot of skin BY JUSTINE BATEMAN Writer/director/producer Justine Bateman examines the aggressive ways that society reacts to the aging of women’s faces.

“I can’t think of anyone better than Justine Bateman to start the conversation about how we’ve de- volved into a society that doesn’t allow women to age. Brave, brilliant, and unflinchingly honest, Justine is that writer you trust because she goes after every subject with a warrior’s focus, and throws herself to the lions while she’s at it.” —Mary-Louise Parker, actress, author of Dear Mr. You APRIL 2021 216 pages, 5 x 7 “These honest, no-flinch vignettes about womanhood, beauty, and meaning will make you mad, hardcover break your heart, will have you longing for a better world, have you rooting for her, yourself, for all $27.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-922-2 women. And you will stand up and cheer when Bateman slides into home plate with an ending of e-book grace and revelation. Riveting read! Profound glimpses into the soul of our society.” $27.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-937-6 —Deb Olin Unferth, author of Barn 8

FACE: ONE SQUARE FOOT OF SKIN is a book of fictional vignettes that examines the fear and vesti- gial evolutionary habits that have caused women and men to cultivate the imagined reality that older women’s faces are unattractive, undesirable, and something to be “fixed.” BASED ON “OLDER FACE” EXPERIENCES of the author, Justine Bateman, and those of dozens of women and men she interviewed, the book presents the reader with the many root causes for society’s often negative attitudes toward women’s older faces. In doing so, Bateman rejects those ingrained as- sumptions about the necessity of fixing older women’s faces, suggesting that we move on from judg- ing a woman’s worth based on the condition of her face. WITH IMPASSIONED PROSE AND A LASER-SHARP EYE, Bateman argues that a woman’s confi- dence should grow as she ages, not be destroyed by society’s misled attitude about that one square foot of skin.

JUSTINE BATEMAN is a writer/director/producer/author with an impressive acting résumé that in- cludes Family Ties, Satisfaction, Arrested Development, and many more. She has earned a Golden Globe nomination and two Emmy nominations. Bateman wrote and produced her directorial film short debut Five Minutes, which premiered at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival and was chosen by seven more festivals, including the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. Violet, Bateman’s directorial feature film debut of her own script, stars Olivia Munn, Luke Bracey, and Justin Theroux, and was an official selection at the 2020 SXSW Film Festival. Her best-selling first book, Fame: The Hijacking of Reality, was published in 2018 by Akashic. also by justine bateman and available from akashic books:

Fame POP CULTURE, NONFICTION, 200 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $26.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-660-3; E-BOOK, $26.99, E-ISBN: 978-1-61775-695-5 “Wholly riveting.” —New York Times Book Review “Justine Bateman was famous before selfies replaced autographs, and bags of fan mail gave way to Twitter shitstorms. And here’s the good news: she took notes along the way . . . Revelatory and raucous, fascinating and frightening, Fame is a hell of a ride.” —Michael J. Fox, actor, author of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future 11 FORTHCOMING

UNSTRUNG: rants and stories of a noise guitarist BY MARC RIBOT Iconoclastic guitar player Marc Ribot offers up essays and stories in this darkly funny and subversive debut collection.

“Ribot is his own man. He does not have a persona; he has a guitar, and he knows its humble anatomy and eventful history as well as just about anyone . . . Don’t be fooled: like Monk, Marlon Brando, Bob Dylan, and other skilled practitioners of broken American poetry, Ribot is a deceptively articulate artist who uses inarticulateness as an expressive device.” —New York Times

AUGUST 2021 essays/short stories/music THROUGHOUT HIS GENRE-DEFYING CAREER as one of the most innovative musicians of our time, 250 pages, 5 x 8 iconoclastic guitar player Marc Ribot has consistently defied expectation at every turn. Here, in his first hardcover $24.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-930-7 collection of writing, we see that same uncompromising sensibility at work as he playfully interrogates

e-book our assumptions about music, life, and death. Through essays, short stories, and the occasional unfilm- $24.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-948-2 able film “mistreatment” that showcase the sheer range of his voice,Unstrung captures an artist whose versatility on the page rivals his dexterity onstage. IN THE FIRST SECTION OF THE BOOK, “Lies and Distortion,” Ribot turns his attention to his instru- ment—“my relation to the guitar is one of struggle; I’m constantly forcing it to be something else”— and reflects on his influences (and friends) like Robert Quine (The Voidoids) and producer Hal Willner (Saturday Night Live), while delivering an impassioned plea on behalf of artists’ rights. Elsewhere, we glimpse fragments of Ribot’s life as a traveling musician—he captures both the monotony of touring as well as small moments of beauty and despair on the road. In the heart of the collection, “Sorry, We’re Experiencing Technical Difficulties,” Ribot offers wickedly humorous short stories that synthesize the best elements of the Russian absurdist tradition with the imaginative heft of George Saunders. Taken together, these stories and essays cement Ribot’s position as one of the most dynamic and creative voices of our time.

MARC RIBOT has released twenty-five albums under his own name over a forty-year career, explor- ing everything from the pioneering jazz of Albert Ayler to the Cuban son of Arsenio Rodríguez. Roll- ing Stone points out that “Ribot helped Tom Waits refine a new, weird Americana on 1985’s Rain Dogs, and since then he’s become the go-to guitar guy for all kinds of roots-music adventurers: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Elvis Costello, John Mellencamp.” Additional recording credits include Neko Case, Diana Krall, Elton John/Leon Russell’s The Union, Solomon Burke, John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards, Marianne Faithfull, Joe Henry, Allen Toussaint, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Caetano Veloso, Allen Gins- berg, Madeleine Peyroux, Norah Jones, the Black Keys, and many others. Ribot works regularly with GRAMMY Award–winning producer T Bone Burnett and New York composer John Zorn. He has also composed and performed on numerous film scores such as Walk the Line, The Kids Are All Right, and The Departed.

12 FORTHCOMING DO SOMETHING FOR NOTHING BY JOSHUA COOMBES Through the simple act of a haircut, readers are taken on a geographical and emotional journey into the lives of humans experiencing homelessness in different cities across the world. “Coombes is a hairdresser, and he believes that small acts of love can make a big impact. Joshua hopes he can help the homeless, not by offering them money or food, but by giving them a haircut.” —Morgan Freeman in The Story of Us (Netflix) “Cutting someone’s hair is a deeply intimate act, and when done for free, it conveys a profound affir- mation of personal value. Do Something for Nothing reclaims the revolutionary power of small acts of MAY 2021 nonfiction human compassion across the boundaries that too often divide us.” 192 pages, 6 x 9 —Mark Andersen, coauthor of We Are the Clash trade paperback original $18.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-935-2

WHEN YOU’RE ON THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY, being recognized can mean everything. In 2015, e-book while working at a London hair salon, Joshua Coombes took to the streets with his scissors to build $18.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-947-5 relationships with people sleeping rough in the capital and began posting transformative images on social media to amplify their voices. These stories resonated and thousands of people got involved in their own way. #DoSomethingForNothing was born—a movement that encourages people to con- nect their skills and time to those who need it. Via the simple act of a haircut, readers are taken on a geographical and emotional journey into the lives of humans experiencing homelessness in different cities across the world.

FEATURING NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN PHOTOGRAPHS and all-new writing, Do Something for Nothing explores themes of love, acceptance, shame, and perseverance, while inviting us to see ourselves in one another and dissolve the negative stigmas surrounding homelessness. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from this book will be donated to organizations dedicated to assisting unsheltered people. JOSHUA COOMBES is a British hairstylist and founder of #DoSomethingForNothing—a movement encouraging people to connect their skills and time to those who need it. When Coombes launched the project in 2015, his intention was to positively impact people’s lives by offering free haircuts to those experiencing homelessness. By posting transformative images on Instagram, his platform con- tinues to grow as he amplifies the stories of many that go unheard. Coombes’s mission caught the attention of media outlets in Europe and has rippled worldwide. Coverage includes appearing in Na- tional Geographic’s new series The Story of Us with Morgan Freeman, released on Netflix internationally. Today, Coombes continues his efforts in new countries, humanizing this issue globally. He currently resides in London, UK. 13 FORTHCOMING/KAYLIE JONES BOOKS THE THIRD MRS. GALWAY A DEBUT NOVEL BY DEIRDRE SINNOTT Antislavery agitation is rocking Utica in 1835 when a young bride discovers an enslaved family hid- ing in her shed, setting in motion the exhumation of long-buried family secrets.

“Deirdre Sinnott is an extraordinary writer whose eye misses nothing. This compelling story is a must read—and it couldn’t be more timely.” —David Black, award-winning journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and producer JULY 2021 “A fast-paced excursion into Utica, New York, in the mid-1830s, The Third Mrs. Galway captures the true- historical fiction 336 pages, 5.25 x 8.25 life antiabolition riots against the New York Anti-Slavery Society. With lively and enjoyable prose, Deir-

trade paperback original dre Sinnott brings the story of emancipation alive.” $17.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-842-3 —Paul Stewart, cofounder of the Underground Railroad History Project e-book $17.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-939-0 IT’S 1835 IN UTICA, NEW YORK, and newlywed Helen Galway discovers a frightening secret: two run- away slaves are hiding in the shack behind her husband’s house. Suddenly, she is at the center of not only the era’s greatest moral dilemma, but her own as well. Should she be a good wife and report the fugitives to her husband? Or will she defy convention and come to the aid of “the least of her brethren”? WITHIN HER HOME, HELEN IS HAUNTED by the previous Mrs. Galway, recently deceased but still an oppressive presence. Her husband, injured by a drunken tumble off his horse, is assisted by a doctor of questionable ambitions who keeps a close eye on Helen. In charge of all things domestic is Maggie— formerly enslaved by the Galway family and freed when emancipation came to New York eight years earlier. AT THE SAME TIME, UTICA IS AT THE CENTER of emancipation efforts as abolitionists arrive for the founding meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society. Those who plead for an immediate end to enslavement are attacked by newspapers accusing them of being insurrectionists and traitors to the Constitution. Everyone faces dangerous choices as they navigate this intensely heated personal and political landscape.

DEIRDRE SINNOTT is an author, researcher, and activist for social change. She grew up in the Utica, NY, area and graduated from Syracuse University. Sinnott speaks nationally about the role of Central New York’s residents in the abolition of slavery. She was the originator of Utica’s Abolition History Day Celebration and has directed two award-winning documentaries on mass incarceration/prison issues. She facilitated the program “Resisting the New Jim Crow” at the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum. Sinnott’s writing has appeared in newspapers, two anthologies, literary journals, and in vari- ous online resources. This is her first novel.

also on our kaylie jones books imprint and available from akashic books:

Here Lies a Father FICTION/LITERATURE, 256 PAGES; PAPERBACK, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-757-0; E-BOOK, $15.99, E-ISBN: 978-1-61775-871-3 “Keenly observed and beautifully written, Mckenzie Cassidy’s Here Lies a Father follows a blue-collar Holden Caulfield through a weekend odyssey of family secrets, lies, and revelations. It’s a novel for anyone who has ever wondered about their parents’ pasts—I couldn’t put it down.” —Sara Pritchard, author of Help Wanted: Female

14 AKASHIC NOIR SERIES

Launched with the summer 2004 best seller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books continues its award-winning series of original noir anthologies. Each book comprises all new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the geographical area of the book. AVAILABLE NOW HAVANA NOIR (CUBA), edited by ACHY OBEJAS PHILADELPHIA NOIR, edited by CARLIN ROMANO (all are trade paperbacks): HELSINKI NOIR (FINLAND), edited by JAMES THOMPSON PHOENIX NOIR, edited by PATRICK MILLIKIN HONG KONG NOIR, edited by JASON Y. NG PITTSBURGH NOIR, edited by KATHLEEN GEORGE ACCRA NOIR (GHANA), edited by NANA-AMA DANQUAH & SUSAN BLUMBERG-KASON PORTLAND NOIR, edited by KEVIN SAMPSELL ADDIS ABABA NOIR (ETHIOPIA), edited by MAAZA MENGISTE HOUSTON NOIR, edited by GWENDOLYN ZEPEDA PRAGUE NOIR (CZECH REPUBLIC), edited by PAVEL MANDYS ALABAMA NOIR, edited by DON NOBLE INDIAN COUNTRY NOIR, edited by SARAH CORTEZ PRISON NOIR, edited by JOYCE CAROL OATES AMSTERDAM NOIR (NETHERLANDS), edited by RENÉ APPEL & LIZ MARTÍNEZ PROVIDENCE NOIR, edited by ANN HOOD & JOSH PACHTER ISTANBUL NOIR (TURKEY), edited by MUSTAFA ZIYALAN QUEENS NOIR, edited by ROBERT KNIGHTLY ATLANTA NOIR, edited by TAYARI JONES & AMY SPANGLER RICHMOND NOIR, edited by ANDREW BLOSSOM, BAGHDAD NOIR (IRAQ), edited by SAMUEL SHIMON KANSAS CITY NOIR, edited by STEVE PAUL BRIAN CASTLEBERRY & TOM DE HAVEN BALTIMORE NOIR, edited by LAURA LIPPMAN KINGSTON NOIR (JAMAICA), edited by COLIN CHANNER RIO NOIR (BRAZIL), edited by TONY BELLOTTO BARCELONA NOIR (SPAIN), edited by ADRIANA V. LÓPEZ LAGOS NOIR (NIGERIA), edited by CHRIS ABANI ROME NOIR (ITALY), edited by CHIARA STANGALINO & CARMEN OSPINA LAS VEGAS NOIR, edited by JARRET KEENE & TODD JAMES PIERCE & MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI BEIRUT NOIR (LEBANON), edited by IMAN HUMAYDAN LONDON NOIR (ENGLAND), edited by CATHI UNSWORTH SAN DIEGO NOIR, edited by MARYELIZABETH HART LONE STAR NOIR, edited by BOBBY BYRD & JOHNNY BYRD BELFAST NOIR (NORTHERN IRELAND), edited by ADRIAN McKINTY SAN FRANCISCO NOIR, edited by PETER MARAVELIS & STUART NEVILLE LONG ISLAND NOIR, edited by KAYLIE JONES SAN FRANCISCO NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by BELGRADE NOIR (SERBIA), edited by MILORAD IVANOVIĆ LOS ANGELES NOIR, edited by DENISE HAMILTON PETER MARAVELIS BERKELEY NOIR, edited by JERRY THOMPSON & OWEN HILL LOS ANGELES NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by DENISE HAMILTON SAN JUAN NOIR: ENGLISH-LANGUAGE EDITION BERLIN NOIR (GERMANY), edited by THOMAS WÖRTCHE MANHATTAN NOIR, edited by LAWRENCE BLOCK (PUERTO RICO), edited by MAYRA SANTOS-FEBRES BOSTON NOIR, edited by DENNIS LEHANE MANHATTAN NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by LAWRENCE BLOCK SAN JUAN NOIR: EDICIÓN EN ESPAÑOL BOSTON NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by DENNIS LEHANE, JAIME MANILA NOIR (PHILIPPINES), edited by JESSICA HAGEDORN (PUERTO RICO), edited by MAYRA SANTOS-FEBRES CLARKE & MARY COTTON MARRAKECH NOIR (MOROCCO), edited by YASIN ADNAN SANTA CRUZ NOIR, edited by SUSIE BRIGHT BRONX NOIR, edited by S.J. ROZAN MARSEILLE NOIR (FRANCE), edited by CÉDRIC FABRE SANTA FE NOIR, edited by ARIEL GORE BROOKLYN NOIR, edited by TIM McLOUGHLIN MEMPHIS NOIR, edited by LAUREEN P. CANTWELL & LEONARD GILL SÃO PAULO NOIR (BRAZIL), edited by TONY BELLOTTO BROOKLYN NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by TIM McLOUGHLIN MEXICO CITY NOIR (MEXICO), edited by PACO I. TAIBO II SEATTLE NOIR, edited by CURT COLBERT BROOKLYN NOIR 3: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, edited by MIAMI NOIR, edited by LES STANDIFORD SINGAPORE NOIR, edited by CHERYL LU-LIEN TAN TIM McLOUGHLIN & THOMAS ADCOCK MIAMI NOIR: THE CLASSICS, edited by LES STANDIFORD STATEN ISLAND NOIR, edited by PATRICIA SMITH BRUSSELS NOIR (BELGIUM), edited by MICHEL DUFRANNE MILWAUKEE NOIR, edited by TIM HENNESSY ST. LOUIS NOIR, edited by SCOTT PHILLIPS BUENOS AIRES NOIR (ARGENTINA), edited by ERNESTO MALLO MISSISSIPPI NOIR, edited by TOM FRANKLIN STOCKHOLM NOIR (SWEDEN), edited by NATHAN LARSON BUFFALO NOIR, edited by ED PARK & BRIGID HUGHES MONTANA NOIR, edited by JAMES GRADY & KEIR GRAFF & CARL-MICHAEL EDENBORG CAPE COD NOIR, edited by DAVID L. ULIN MONTREAL NOIR (CANADA), edited by JOHN McFETRIDGE ST. PETERSBURG NOIR (RUSSIA), edited by NATALIA SMIRNOVA CHICAGO NOIR, edited by NEAL POLLACK & JACQUES FILIPPI & JULIA GOUMEN CHICAGO NOIR: THE CLASSICS, edited by JOE MENO MOSCOW NOIR (RUSSIA), edited by NATALIA SMIRNOVA SYDNEY NOIR (AUSTRALIA), edited by JOHN DALE COLUMBUS NOIR, edited by ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS & JULIA GOUMEN TAMPA BAY NOIR, edited by COLETTE BANCROFT COPENHAGEN NOIR (DENMARK), edited by BO TAO MICHAËLIS MUMBAI NOIR (INDIA), edited by ALTAF TYREWALA TEHRAN NOIR (IRAN), edited by SALAR ABDOH DALLAS NOIR, edited by DAVID HALE SMITH NAIROBI NOIR (KENYA), edited by PETER KIMANI TEL AVIV NOIR (ISRAEL), edited by ETGAR KERET & ASSAF GAVRON D.C. NOIR, edited by GEORGE PELECANOS NEW HAVEN NOIR, edited by AMY BLOOM TORONTO NOIR (CANADA), edited by JANINE ARMIN D.C. NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by GEORGE PELECANOS NEW JERSEY NOIR, edited by JOYCE CAROL OATES & NATHANIEL G. MOORE DELHI NOIR (INDIA), edited by HIRSH SAWHNEY NEW ORLEANS NOIR, edited by JULIE SMITH TRINIDAD NOIR (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO), edited by DETROIT NOIR, edited by E.J. OLSEN & JOHN C. HOCKING NEW ORLEANS NOIR: THE CLASSICS, edited by JULIE SMITH LISA ALLEN-AGOSTINI & JEANNE MASON DUBLIN NOIR (IRELAND), edited by KEN BRUEN OAKLAND NOIR, edited by EDDIE MULLER & JERRY THOMPSON TRINIDAD NOIR: THE CLASSICS (TRINIDAD & TOBAGO), edited by HAITI NOIR, edited by EDWIDGE DANTICAT ORANGE COUNTY NOIR, edited by GARY PHILLIPS EARL LOVELACE & ROBERT ANTONI HAITI NOIR 2: THE CLASSICS, edited by EDWIDGE DANTICAT PARIS NOIR (FRANCE), edited by AURÉLIEN MASSON TWIN CITIES NOIR, edited by JULIE SCHAPER & STEVEN HORWITZ USA NOIR: BEST OF THE AKASHIC NOIR SERIES, edited by JOHNNY TEMPLE “Hold the eggnog: What you need is a draft of ‘edgy fatalism and sexy recklessness,’ of flashy crime, gallows VANCOUVER NOIR (CANADA), edited by SAM WIEBE humor, and ‘desperate deals with a variety of devils,’ served up every year since 2004 by the editors of Akashic VENICE NOIR (ITALY), edited by MAXIM JAKUBOWSKI Books’ brilliant noir anthologies. From Brooklyn to Boston, from Phoenix to pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans, WALL STREET NOIR, edited by PETER SPIEGELMAN each volume in the series reveals a city’s distinctive inner darkness.” —O, The Oprah Magazine ZAGREB NOIR (CROATIA), edited by IVAN SRŠEN “Over the past few years, some of the best collections of short stories have been the Noir anthologies pub- lished by Akashic . . . To me, these collections are total gems, a quality read from some of today’s best authors.” —Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel FORTHCOMING “Diversity is the hallmark of the series. While ostensibly dark tales of crime and despair, the genius of the series JERUSALEM NOIR, edited by DROR MISHANI lies in its ability to use such an uncharacteristic point of entry to convey the identity and essence of a place PARIS NOIR: THE SUBURBS (FRANCE), edited by HERVÉ DELOUCHE with remarkably poignant accuracy.” —PopMatters 15 FORTHCOMING/AKASHIC NOIR SERIES PALM SPRINGS NOIR EDITED BY BARBARA DeMARCO-BARRETT Palm Springs joins Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley in the Noir Series arena.

BRAND-NEW STORIES BY: T. Jefferson Parker, Janet Fitch, Eric Beetner, Kelly Shire, Tod Goldberg, Mi- chael Craft, Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rob Roberge, J.D. Horn, Eduardo Santiago, Rob Bowman, Chris J. Bahnsen, Ken Layne, and Alex Espinoza.

FROM THE INTRODUCTION BY BARBARA DeMARCO-BARRETT: JULY 2021 fiction/mystery anthology 304 pages, 5.25 x 8.25 The best noir writers make us feel the heat of the sun, the touch of a lover. Setting can be gritty but

trade paperback original can also be sublime, no longer relegated to urban locales and seedy hotel rooms but also mansions $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-928-4 and swimming pools. Hence, Palm Springs, which may seem like an odd setting for a collection of e-book dark short stories—it’s so sunny and bright here. The quality of light is unlike anywhere else, and $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-938-3 translation rights: akashic with an average of three hundred sunny days a year, what could go wrong? . . . The stories in this collection come on like the wicked dust storms common to the area. More than half are by writers who live here full-time; all have homes in Southern California. They know this place in ways visitors and outsiders never will. These are not stories you’ll read in the glossy coffee- table books that feature Palm Springs’s good life. There is indeed a lush life to be found here, but for the characters in these stories, it’s often just out of reach.

BARBARA DeMARCO-BARRETT spends time in the desert whenever she can. She hosts Writers on Writing on KUCI-FM, and her book Pen on Fire was a Los Angeles Times best seller. Her short story “Crazy for You” was published in USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series. She has also published in the Los Ange- les Times, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Inlandia, Shotgun Honey, Partners in Crime, and Paradigm Shifts.

also available in the akashic noir series:

Los Angeles Noir edited by Denise Hamilton FICTION/MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY, 275 PAGES; TRADE PAPERBACK, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-422-4

BRAND-NEW STORIES BY: MICHAEL CONNELLY, JANET FITCH, SUSAN STRAIGHT, HÉCTOR TOBAR, PATT MORRISON, EMORY HOLMES II, ROBERT FERRIGNO, GARY PHILLIPS, CHRISTOPHER RICE, NAOMI HIRAHARA, JIM PASCOE, NEAL POLLACK, SCOTT PHILLIPS, DIANA WAGMAN, LIENNA SILVER, BRIAN ASCALON ROLEY, AND DENISE HAMILTON. A Los Angeles Times best seller, Book Sense Notable Pick, and SCIBA Book Award Winner

Orange County Noir edited by Gary Phillips FICTION/MYSTERY ANTHOLOGY, 300 PAGES; TRADE PAPERBACK, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-93607-003-9

BRAND-NEW STORIES BY: SUSAN STRAIGHT, ROBERT S. LEVINSON, ROB ROBERGE, NATHAN WALPOW, BARBARA DeMARCO-BARRETT, DAN DULING, MARY CASTILLO, LAW- RENCE MADDOX, DICK LOCHTE, ROBERT WARD, GARY PHILLIPS, GORDON MCALPINE, MARTIN J. SMITH, AND PATRICIA MCFALL, WITH A FOREWARD BY T. JEFFERSON PARKER. “‘There’s a dark side to most places,’ even California’s sunny Orange County, Edgar-winner T. Jefferson Parker observes in his foreword to this outstanding entry in Akashic’s noir series, one of the stronger of the all-original anthologies. The crisp, often seductive prose of the 14 contributors, most of them relatively unknown, is a tribute to the critical judgment of the editor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

16 FORTHCOMING NEW-GENERATION AFRICAN POETS: a chapbook box set (nane) EDITED BY KWAME DAWES AND CHRIS ABANI This fourteen-piece, limited-edition box set—an African Poetry Book Fund (APBF) project— features the work of thirteen new African poets.

PRAISE FOR THE CHAPBOOK SERIES: “Dawes and Abani have taken on the vital project of publishing short collections by contemporary po- ets from Africa, packaged together in beautiful boxed sets.” —New York Times Magazine JUNE 2021 poetry “An ambitious, vital project that delivers exactly what it promises . . . As a group, the chapbooks dispel 360 pages, 6 x 9 stereotypes about African writing. They also illustrate what editors Dawes and Abani note about the box set/slipcased $34.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-950-5 many ways poets can understand or redefine their ties to Africa. These insights are poignant and valu- translation rights: akashic able, especially at a time when millions around the globe find themselves somewhere between new countries and ancestral lands they’ve left behind.” —Washington Post “A collection pulsing with fresh talent in a series that poetry lovers worldwide should be grateful for.” —Shelf Awareness

ABOUT THIS COLLECTION: The limited-edition box set is a project started in 2014 to ensure the pub- kwame dawes lication of a collection of chapbooks every year by African poets through Akashic Books. The series seeks to identify the best poetry written by African poets working today, and it is especially interested in featuring poets who have not yet published their first full-length book of poetry.

THE THIRTEEN POETS INCLUDED IN THIS BOX SET ARE: Selina Nwulu, Ayan M. Omar, Jeremy Teddy Karn, Ajibola Tolase, Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu, Sara Elkamel, Precious Arinze, Lameese Badr, Qutouf Yahia,

Edil Hassan, Kolawole Adebayo, Cynthia Amoah, and Saradha Soobrayen. chris abani

KWAME DAWES is the Ghana-born, award-winning author of twenty-one books of poetry and numer- ous other books of fiction, criticism, and essays. He has won Pushcart Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Emmy, and was the 2019 awardee of the Windham-Campbell Prize in Poetry. He currently teaches at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. CHRIS ABANI, a Nigerian-born, award-winning poet and novelist, currently teaches at Northwestern University in Chicago. He is the recipient of a PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond Margins Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and a Guggenheim Award. also available in the new-generation african poets series: New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Saba) POETRY, HARDCOVER, $34.95, 350 PAGES, ISBN: 978-1-61775-816-4 New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Nne) POETRY, HARDCOVER, $29.95, 350 PAGES, ISBN: 978-1-61775-540-8 New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Tano) POETRY, HARDCOVER, $29.95, 350 PAGES, ISBN: 978-1-61775-623-8 New-Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set (Sita) POETRY, HARDCOVER, $29.95, 350 PAGES, ISBN: 978-1-61775-717-4

17 CURRENT TOP SELLERS

OUT OF MESOPOTAMIA A NOVEL BY SALAR ABDOH FICTION/LITERATURE, 240 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $26.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-860-7; E-BOOK, $26.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-891-1 Informed by firsthand experience on the battlefronts of Iraq and Syria, Abdoh captures the horror, confusion, and absurdity of combat from a seldom-glimpsed perspective that expands our under- standing of the war novel. “[The novel shines] a brilliant, feverish light on the nature of not only modern war but all war, and even of life itself.” —New York Times Book Review, Editor’s Choice “A superb pressure cooker of a novel . . . Abdoh brilliantly fuses the confusions of combat and modern life to produce an unforgettable novel. This is one of the best works of literature on the war against ISIS to date.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Abdoh explores the lives behind the war-torn headlines in a way that captures the full humanity of the participants. Channeling a bit of Tim O’Brien and a good deal of Joseph Heller, he has written the best novel to date on the Middle East’s ceaseless wars.” —Library Journal, starred review

THE NICOTINE CHRONICLES EDITED BY LEE CHILD FICTION, PAPERBACK, 288 PAGES, 8.25 X 6.1875, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-859-1; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-867-6 Lee Child recruits Joyce Carol Oates, Jonathan Ames, Cara Black, and others to reveal nicotine’s scintillating alter egos. IN RECENT YEARS, NICOTINE HAS BECOME as verboten as many hard drugs. The literary styles in this volume are as varied as the moral quandaries herein, and the authors have successfully unleashed their incandescent imaginations on the subject matter, fashioning an immensely addictive collection. “Sixteen tributes to America’s guiltiest pleasure . . . Even confirmed anti-smokers will find something to savor.” —Kirkus Reviews “The most successful entries delve bone-deep into addiction, as characters smoke to smother physical pain, loneliness, and their days . . . These writers capture the mental gymnastics behind the characters’ bad decisions, and the joy such bad decisions can bring.” —Publishers Weekly

SPECULATIVE LOS ANGELES EDITED BY DENISE HAMILTON FICTION, PAPERBACK, 272 PAGES, 8.25 X 6.1875, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-856-0; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-868-3 THE DEBUT TITLE OF A NEW CITY-BASED ANTHOLOGY SERIES featuring stories with speculative, sci-fi, and paranormal themes. “Speculative Los Angeles is a thrill ride of grand ideas and warnings. Take a place that already defines the future of culture, add fourteen unbound minds, and you get a collection that wows the imagination like no other.” —Michael Connelly, author of the best-selling Harry Bosch series

18 CURRENT TOP SELLERS

PRAYER FOR THE LIVING STORIES BY BEN OKRI FICTION/LITERATURE, 216 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $22.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-863-8; E-BOOK, $22.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-874-4 Topical and timely, Booker Prize–winning author Ben Okri’s new collection of short stories blurs parallel realities and walks the line between darkness and magic. “Okri is always good company and these twenty-odd tales showcase his lucid prose and freewheeling imagination. The settings range from the Andes to Nigeria, and the common thread is that what you see is only part of the story . . . A literary magic-carpet ride of shimmering beauty.” —Daily Mail (UK) “In Prayer for the Living, Nigerian-born, British-based Booker Prize winner Okri ranges worldwide in sto- ries that test the boundaries of reality.” —Library Journal, Barbara Hoffert’s Prepub Alert

CREATURES OF PASSAGE A NOVEL BY MOROWA YEJIDÉ FICTION/LITERATURE, 304 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $25.00, 978-1-61775-876-8; E-BOOK, $25.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-888-1 With echoes of Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Yejidé’s novel explores a forgotten quadrant of Washington, DC, and the ghosts that haunt it. “In this beautifully written and gloriously conceived novel, Morowa Yejidé reveals her mastery yet again. This novel is both contemporary and ancient, frightening and stirring, playful and wise, an unforget- table blurring of reality and genres from its haunted Plymouth automobile to the mysteries in the fog in this alternate America and hidden Washington, DC. With its lyricism and bold imagination, Creatures of Passage is unlike anything you’ve ever read.” —Tananarive Due, author of Ghost Summer: Stories “Comparisons will be made to Toni Morrison and they will be well founded, but Morowa Yejidé is in a class of her own with Creatures of Passage, a mesmerizing tale about love, loss, revenge, death, and res- toration that hovers close to the edge of fantasy yet is deeply grounded in history and in a reality easily recognizable in the contemporary world.” —Elizabeth Nunez, author of Even in Paradise

CANE WARRIORS A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL BY ALEX WHEATLE JUVENILE FICTION, 200 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $33.95, 978-1-61775-906-2; PAPERBACK, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-855-3; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-873-7 Moa, a fourteen-year-old slave, gets caught up in the most significant slave rebellion in Jamaican history, paying homage to freedom fighters all over the world. “Wheatle brings the struggle of slavery in the Jamaican sugar cane fields to life . . . A refreshing and heartbreaking story that depicts both a real-life uprising against oppression and the innate desire to be free. Highly recommended.” —School Library Journal, starred review “Alex Wheatle writes from a place of honesty and passion, with the full knowledge and understanding that change can only happen through words and actions.” —Steve McQueen, Academy Award–winning film director BLACK SHEEP

19 CURRENT TOP SELLERS

PARTICULATE MATTER a memoir by FELICIA LUNA LEMUS NONFICTION/MEMOIR, 144 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $19.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-841-6; E-BOOK, $19.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-872-0 In concise and distilled prose, Lemus presents a collection of still lifes, landscapes, and portraits of a challenging year that threatened all she loved most. “Lush and vibrant even in its sparseness, Felicia Luna Lemus’s Particulate Matter masterfully evokes the fragmentary experience of moving through time and space. Episodes flash by us, eliciting worry or wonder, defeat or delight. It can all change in a moment, Lemus assures us. Finding the lyrical in the mundane, Lemus’s lines pause motion, require the reader to consider what informs the impulse, what lies in the spare space between yes or no and fight or flight. These before-and-after moments, and the emotions that attend them—longing, loss, love, anger—mark us, accumulate, become us. Particulate Matter is a powerful exploration of the quickly changing landscapes—fraught, brittle, pensive, luminous—inside us.” —Lynell George, author of After/Image: Los Angeles Outside the Frame

POLAR VORTEX a novel by SHANI MOOTOO FICTION/LITERATURE, 336 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $39.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-908-6; PAPERBACK, $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-862-1; E-BOOK, $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-870-6 A novel reminiscent of the works of Herman Koch and Rachel Cusk, in which a lesbian couple attempts to escape the secrets of their pasts, long-listed for the Giller Prize. “A slow-burning examination of identity, gender, desire, and immigration . . . Mootoo’s subtle, thought-provoking tale stands out among stories of characters gripped by the past.” —Publishers Weekly “Compellingly charts the complexity of human relationships, the illusions of memory, and the corrosive power of denial.” —Kirkus Reviews

A MILLION AUNTIES a novel by ALECIA McKENZIE FICTION/LITERATURE, 202 PAGES; PAPERBACK, $16.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-892-8; E-BOOK, $16.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-895-9 American-born artist Chris is forced to reconsider his conception of family during a visit to his mother’s Caribbean homeland. “Thoroughly satisfying . . . This bighearted narrative of love, loss, and family is handled with grace and beauty.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review “Racial identity, nonfamilial relationships, and the restorative nature of art are all explored as McKenzie considers the possibility of regeneration of the human spirit even as we grapple with the tragedies of lost loves and changing worlds. McKenzie success- fully integrates various speech patterns in Caribbean patois and a mixture of English and French as she takes readers on a hopeful journey across continents.” —Booklist, starred review “A Million Aunties is an elegantly written and emotionally engrossing work of fiction.” —Bernardine Evaristo, Booker Prize–winning author of Girl, Woman, Other

PLANET CLAIRE: suite for cello and sad-eyed lovers a memoir by JEFF PORTER NONFICTION/MEMOIR, 272 PAGES; HARDCOVER, $37.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-907-9; PAPERBACK, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-846-1; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-869-0 The second installment in Ann Hood’s Gracie Belle imprint challenges the traditional solemnity that characterizes non- fiction books of grief, loss, and sorrow. “Jeff Porter has given us an incredibly warm, rich, vivid memoir, a love letter to his deceased wife and an autobiography of love attained and lost. When a person dies a world passes away, yet Porter has created a cabinet of wonders out of a thousand bits of the world that vanished when his wife died. The sentences are sharp and surprising, perfectly formed, by turns painful, funny, haunting, and inevitably right.” —Richard Preston, author of The Hot Zone “Jeff Porter indelibly conjures his lost, beloved Claire in a ‘spiral galaxy’ of memory, while offering the story of a delicious mar- riage in prose that is elegiac but also gorgeous, funny, and endearingly modest.” —Honor Moore, author of The Bishop’s Daughter

20 CURRENT TOP SELLERS

YOU CAN KEEP THAT TO YOURSELF A COMPREHENSIVE LIST OF WHAT NOT TO SAY TO BLACK PEOPLE, FOR WELL-INTENTIONED PEOPLE OF PALLOR BY ADAM SMYER HUMOR, HARDCOVER, 136 PAGES, 4 X 6, $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775-896-6; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-897-3

GREETINGS, WELL-INTENTIONED PERSON OF PALLOR. Your good intentions used to be enough. But in these diverse and divisive times, you need help. Let Daquan—that black coworker you are referring to when you claim to have black friends—help you navigate perilous small talk with African Americans by using this handy alphabetized list of things not to say to black people. HOW TO USE: Whenever you feel compelled to blurt out an observation about our hair or to liken your Tesla lease to slavery, ask for a moment to consult this reference. If the keen insight you want to share is listed herein . . . YOU CAN KEEP THAT TO YOURSELF!

Whenever yet another white person mur- ders a black person on video and doesn’t A NGRY even get in trouble, the first thing you ask me is, Why are you so angry? Keep that to yourself, or say what you mean: How did you notice that we are killing you?

Do not ask to touch our hair. Do not com- ment on our hair. You can look at our hair. H AIR But keep your childlike wondrous obser- vations to yourself. Hold them in like a fart. THERE YOU GO. A COUPLE EXAMPLES OF WORDS YOU CAN KEEP TO YOURSELF. I come from regular people who were ab- THERE ARE MANY MORE IN ducted by evil people. I don’t know who THIS DISCREET VOLUME. S LAVE these “slaves” are. I HOPE IT HELPS! You like that word too much. It is creepy. REALLY, REALLY HOPE IT HELPS! 21 CURRENT TOP SELLERS An Unkindness of Ghosts by RIVERS SOLOMON Is A perfect book for our time A BEST BOOK OF 2017 IN . . . NPR, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, Bustle, Bookish, Barnes & Noble, Chicago Public Library INCLUDED IN. . .

An essential end-of-the-World Reading List SCIENCE FICTION, 336 PGS., $15.95, ISBN: 978-1-61775- —Los Angeles Times 588-0; E-BOOK, $15.99, ISBN: 978-1-61775-599-6 Harry Potter alternatives: trans-inclusive fantasy & sci-fi books —NBC News ONE OF. . . 8 Speculative fiction books by black Authors about black futures for Imagining a New World —Autostraddle 20 must-Read black Authors of LGbtQ books —Book Riot 13 Nonbinary Writers and Comic Creators Changing Science fiction and fantasy —SyFy Wire 20 books to Read If you Want to Get Into black Sci-fi And fantasy —BuzzFeed 22 SALES, DISTRIBUTION & OVERSEAS AGENTS

SALES & DISTRIBUTION OVERSEAS AGENTS (continued) OVERSEAS AGENTS (continued)

UNITED STATES & CANADA DISTRIBUTION FRANCE LATIN AMERICA CONSORTIUM BOOK SALES & DISTRIBUTION VANESSA KLING, LA NOUVELLE AGENCE ANDREA MONTEJO, INDENT LITERARY AGENCY THE KEG HOUSE, 34 THIRTEENTH AVE., NE, SUITE 101 7, RUE CORNEILLE 1123 BROADWAY, SUITE 716 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55413 75006 PARIS, FRANCE NEW YORK, NY 10010 TEL: 866-400-5351, FAX: 731-424-0988 TEL: 33-1-43-25-85-60; FAX: 33-1-43-25-47-98 TEL: 646-918-7010; FAX: 347-581-9610 E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] WWW.CBSD.COM GERMANY NETHERLANDS UNITED KINGDOM (& EUROPE) DISTRIBUTION SEBASTIAN RITSCHER, MOHRBOOKS LITERARY AGENCY WAMPE DE VEER, BLACKBIRD LITERARY AGENCY TURNAROUND DISTRIBUTION SEEFELDSTR. 303 PIETER DE HOOGHLAAN, 27 UNIT 3, OLYMPIA TRADING ESTATE CH-8008 ZURICH, SWITZERLAND 3741 RL BAARN, THE NETHERLANDS COBURG ROAD, N22 6TZ, LONDON, ENGLAND TEL: 41-43-244-86-26, FAX: 41-43-244-86-27 TEL: 31-625129599 TEL: 44-208-829-3000, FAX: 44-208-881-5088 E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] WWW.TURNAROUND-UK.COM GREECE POLAND ELIZABETH SPANTIDAKI, THE BOOK PROJECT AGENCY TOMASZ BEREZINSKI, GRAAL LITERARY AGENCY AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND DISTRIBUTION 13 PLATONOS ST. PRUSZKOWSKA 29/252 NEWSOUTH BOOKS GLYFADA 16675, GREECE PL 02-119 WARSZAWA, POLAND UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES TEL: 30-694-2595583 TEL: 48-22-8952000, FAX: 48-22-8952001 UNSW SYDNEY, NSW 2052, AUSTRALIA E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] TEL: 61-2-4390-1300, FAX: 61-2-8778-9944 E-MAIL: [email protected] HUNGARY SCANDINAVIA & ICELAND WWW.NEWSOUTHBOOKS.COM.AU NORBERT UZSEKA, LEX COPYRIGHT OFFICE ULF TÖREGÅRD, ULF TÖREGÅRD AGENCY AB SZEMERE U. 21, MEYERS PLAN 5 LATIN AMERICA, CARIBBEAN, MIDDLE EAST, ASIA & 1054 BUDAPEST, HUNGARY S-374 33 KARLSHAMN, SWEDEN AFRICA DISTRIBUTION TEL: 36-1-332-9340, FAX: 36-1-331-6181 TEL: 46 454 84340; MOBILE: 46 708 123 561 INGRAM PUBLISHER SERVICES INTERNATIONAL E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAIL: [email protected] 1400 BROADWAY, SUITE 520, NEW YORK, NY 10018 TEL: 212-340-8153 ISRAEL SPAIN, PORTUGAL, & CATALAN E-MAIL: [email protected] EFRAT LEV, DEBORAH HARRIS AGENCY TERESA VILARRUBLA THE FOREIGN OFFICE WWW.INGRAMCONTENT.COM P.O. BOX 8528, 91083 JERUSALEM, ISRAEL C/ ROSSELLÓ 104, ENTL 2A TEL: 972-2-5633237, FAX: 972-2-5618711 08029 BARCELONA, SPAIN E-MAIL: [email protected] TEL: 34-93-321-4290 E-MAIL: [email protected] OVERSEAS AGENTS ITALY MAURA SOLINAS, PIERGIORGIO NICOLAZZINI LIT. AGENCY TURKEY VIA G.B. MORONI, 22, 20146 MILANO, ITALY CANSU CANSEVEN, ANATOLIALIT AGENCY BRAZIL TEL: 39-02-487-13365, FAX: 39-02 487-13365 CAFERAGA MAHALLESI, GUNESLI BAHCE SOK. LAURA & JOÃO PAULO RIFF, RIFF AGENCY E-MAIL: [email protected] NO:48 OR.KO APT., B BLOK D:4 AV. CALÓGERAS 6, SALA 1007 34710 KADIKOY- ISTANBUL, TURKEY 20030-070 RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ–BRASIL JAPAN TEL: 90-216-700-1088, FAX: 90-216-700-1089 TEL: 55-21-22876299, FAX: 55-21-22676393 MIKO YAMANOUCHI, JAPAN UNI AGENCY E-MAIL: [email protected] E-MAILS: [email protected], TOKYODO JINBOCHO NO. 2 BLDG., 5F, [email protected] 1-27, KANDA JINBOCHO, CHIYODA-KU ALL OTHER TERRITORIES TOKYO 101-0051, JAPAN JOHANNA INGALLS, AKASHIC BOOKS CHINA & TAIWAN TEL: 81-3-3295-0301, FAX: 81-3-3294-5173 232 THIRD ST., A115 GRAY TAN, THE GRAYHAWK AGENCY E-MAIL: [email protected] BROOKLYN, NY 11215, USA 14F, NO.63, SEC. 4, XINYI RD. TEL: 718-643-9193, FAX: 718-643-9195 TAIPEI, 10684, TAIWAN KOREA E-MAIL: [email protected] TEL: 886-2-27059321, FAX: 886-2-27059610 AMO NOH, AMO AGENCY E-MAIL: [email protected] GWANGGYO SK VIEW LAKE A-508, BEOPJO-RO 25, YEONGTONG-GU, SUWON-SI, GYEONGGI-DO, CZECH REPUBLIC (JUVENILE & YA ONLY) 16514 REPUBLIC OF KOREA TEREZA PARIZKOVA, TWINKLE BOOKS AGENCY TEL:+82 (0)31 211 4160 / FAX:+82 (0)31 211 4170 PEKARSKA 490/11, 779 00 OLOMOUC, CZECH REPUBLIC E-MAIL: [email protected] TEL: +420 775 184 493 E-MAIL: [email protected]

23 232 THIRD ST., SUITE A115 BROOKLYN, NY 11215 TEL: 718.643.9193 FAX: 718.643.9195 E-MAIL: [email protected]

“AS MANY IN PUBLISHING STRUGGLE TO FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE ON AN INCREASINGLY OUTDATED BUSINESS MODEL, INDEPEN- DENTS SUCH AS AKASHIC WHICH ARE MORE NIMBLE AND LESS — RISK-AVERSE THAN MAJOR PUBLISHING HOUSES ARE INNOVA- — TORS TO WATCH.” LOS ANGELES TIMES —

“AKASHIC FULLY CONVEYS THE CHARMS AND POSSIBILITIES OF SMALL PRESS PUBLISHING . . . PLACING A PRIORITY ON THE QUALITY OF THE BOOKS, RATHER THAN THE POSSIBLE MARKET- ING OPPORTUNITIES THEY OFFER.” POETS & WRITERS —

“IT’S HEARTENING THAT EVEN AS THE DINOSAURS OF PUBLISHING ARE LURCHING TOWARD EXTINCTION, NIMBLE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS LIKE AKASHIC ARE PRODUCING HIGH-QUALITY, INNOVATIVE CONTENT.” PORTLAND MERCURY —

“WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT AKASHIC IS ITS SENSE OF ADVENTURE AND ITS SMART ECLECTICISM. ANYTHING CARRYING THE LOGO COMES WITH THE GUARANTEE THAT IT’S WORTH CHECKING OUT.” HARTFORD COURANT —

“ONE OF NEW YORK’S MOST EXCITING SMALL PUBLISHERS.” GUARDIAN (UK) —