Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, and I’ve got new releases, and a focus this week on horror short fiction that centers Black women and girls. I know we’re not a horror newsletter as such, but I feel like there’s enough crossover to read some dang good short stories about badass final girls. Stay safe out there, space pirates, and I’ll see you on Tuesday!
Looking to elevate your reading life? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help with handpicked recommendations. Tell the Bibliologists at Tailored Book Recommendations about what you love and what you don’t. You can get your recommendations via email or receive hardcovers or paperbacks in the mail. And with quarterly or annual plans available, TBR has something for every budget. Plans start at just $18! Subscribe today.
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here are two places to start: Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund, which provides medical and humanitarian relief to children in the Middle East regardless of nationality, religion, or political affiliation; and Ernesto’s Sanctuary, a cat sanctuary and animal rescue in Syria that is near and dear to my heart.
Bookish Goods
Library Due Date Card Socks by ThisWear
I imagine a lot of us love a delightful pair of socks, and these are quite cute. I’ll admit it’s been a minute since I checked out a physical book from the library (I regularly use the ebook libraries, though!), but this made me want to go do just that… $15
New Releases
Awakening the Dark Throne by Jessica Ann Disciacca
Genevieve Autumn’s entire existence is forbidden; she’s the child of a human and one of the immortal elves who rule the world. She keeps herself safe by hiding among the humans, but when her sister is seized by the dark elves, she offers herself to the light elves in exchange for her sister’s freedom, while still struggling to hide her true identity to preserve her own life. But she is not without power — the ability to see the future has awakened in her, and it will lead her to her destiny if she’s brave enough to confront it.
The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa, translated by Sawad Hussain and Ranya Abdelrahman
By day, the book censor combs through manuscripts in his office, ferreting out hints of queerness, religious allusions that counter the state religion, and the intimation that there was life and existence before the Revolution. By night, surrounded by novels he’s pilfered from his novels, he’s haunted by the characters of literary classics, which slowly lead him into a mirror world of undercover booksellers, outlaw librarians, and resistance fighters.
For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
With one new horror anthology filled with excellent Black authors coming out, I just had to recommend both it and another excellent Black horror anthology.
The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell
This anthology contains 15 new short stories where Black girls are front, center, and final.
Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters edited by Sumiko Saulson
This anthology of 17 scary stories puts Black women and femmes in the starring role of Afrocentric and multicultural horror.
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.