Publisher Description
A glittering landscape of twenty-five speculative stories that challenge oppression and envision new futures for America—from N. K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, G. Willow Wilson, Charlie Jane Anders, Hugh Howey, and more. In these tumultuous times, in our deeply divided country, many people are angry, frightened, and hurting. Knowing that imagining a brighter tomorrow has always been an act of resistance, editors Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams invited an extraordinarily talented group of writers to share stories that explore new forms of freedom, love, and justice. They asked for narratives that would challenge oppressive American myths, release us from the chokehold of our history, and give us new futures to believe in. They also asked that the stories be badass. The result is this spectacular collection of twenty-five tales that blend the dark and the light, the dystopian and the utopian. These tales are vivid with struggle and hardship—whether it’s the othered and the terrorized, or dragonriders and covert commandos—but these characters don’t flee, they fight. Thrilling, inspiring, and a sheer joy to listen to, A People’s Future of the United States is a gift for anyone who believes in our power to dream a just world. AUDIO TABLE OF CONTENTS: Introduction by Victor LaValle, read by the author The Bookstore at the End of America, by Charlie Jane Anders, read by Kyla Garcia Our Aim Is Not to Die, by A. Merc Rustad, read by Dani Martineck The Wall, by Lizz Huerta, read by Roxana Ortega Read After Burning, by Maria Dahvana Headley, read by William DeMeritt Chapter 5: Disruption and Continuity [excerpted], by Malka Older, read by Prentice Onayemi It Was Saturday Night, I Guess That Makes It All Right, by Sam J. Miller, read by Paul Boehmer Attachment Disorder, by Tananarive Due, read by Kyla Garcia By His Bootstraps, by Ashok K. Banker, read by William DeMeritt Riverbed, by Omar El Akkad, read by Soneela Nankani What Maya Found There, by Daniel José Older, read by Roxana Ortega The Referendum, by Lesley Nneka Arimah, read by Adenrele Ojo Calendar Girls, by Justina Ireland, read by N'Jameh Camara The Synapse Will Free Us from Ourselves, by Violet Allen, read by Vikas Adam O.1, by Gabby Rivera, read by a full cast (Public Broadcast, Falak Alfayed: Vikas Adam; Mala: Soneela Nankani; Deviana Ortiz: Roxana Ortega; Key: William DeMeritt; Orion: Adenrele Ojo; Luz: Kyla Garcia) The Blindfold, by Tobias S. Buckell, read by Prentice Onayemi No Algorithms in the World, by Hugh Howey, read by Darrell Dennis Esperanto, by Jamie Ford, read by N'Jameh Camara ROME, by G. Willow Wilson, read by Soneela Nankani Give Me Cornbread or Give Me Death, by N. K. Jemisin, read by Adenrele Ojo Good News Bad News, by Charles Yu, read by a full cast (Narrators: Prentice Onayemi & Dani Martineck; Elizabeth Chang: Nancy Wu; Darren Chang: Darrell Dennis; Cynthia Rodriguez: N’Jameh Camara; Bert Newsom: Paul Boehmer; Emma Chang: Kyla Garcia; Nicholas Chang: Nancy Wu) What You Sow, by Kai Cheng Thom, read by Nancy Wu A History of Barbed Wire, by Daniel H. Wilson, read by Darrell Dennis The Sun in Exile, by Catherynne M. Valente, read by Nancy Wu Harmony, by Seanan McGuire, read by Dani Martineck Now Wait for This Week, by Alice Sola Kim, read by Soneela Nankani
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“An outstanding collection written..Each story builds a plausible extrapolation of the current world, and each character is well drawn. This bold collection is full of hope, strength, and courage, and will be welcomed by readers looking for emotional sustenance and validation of their experiences in a challenging time.”
—
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
About the Authors
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
Colleen Delany has
been a sparkling jewel in the crown of Washington’s vastly talented acting
community for thirty-seven days now and will confidently challenge to a fierce
best out of three in “paper-rock-scissors” anyone wishing to topple her from
that lofty perch. Primarily a stage actress,—having played roles at Shakespeare
Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, Folger
Shakespeare Library, Studio Theatre, Olney Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Theater J,
Washington Stage Guild, Theater of the First Amendment, and Source Theatre,
among others—Ms. Delany does a you-name-it of various acting jobs, including
audiobook narration.
Seanan McGuire is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, Alex and Locus Award-winning Wayward Children series, the October Daye series, the InCryptid series, and other works. She also writes darker fiction as Mira Grant. She won the 2010 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, and in 2013 became the first person to appear five times on the same ballot for the Hugo Award. In 2022, she managed the same feat again.
N. K. Jemisin is an American author who has won three consecutive Hugo Awards for Best Novel. Her work has also won the Nebula, Locus, and Goodreads Choice awards. She is a reviewer for the New York Times Book Review, and she has been an instructor for the Clarion and Clarion West writing workshops.
Tananarive Due is a former features writer and columnist for the Miami Herald. She has written two highly acclaimed novels, The Between and My Soul to Keep. Ms. Due makes her home in Longview, Washington.
About the Narrators
Adenrele Ojo is an actress, dancer, and audiobook narrator, winner of over a dozen Earphones Awards and the prestigious Audie Award for best narration in 2018. She made her on-screen debut in My Little Girl, starring Jennifer Lopez, and has since starred in several other films. She has also performed extensively with the Philadelphia Dance Company. As the daughter of John E. Allen, Jr., founder and artistic director of Freedom Theatre, the oldest African American theater in Pennsylvania, is no stranger to the stage. In 2010 she performed in the Fountain Theatre’s production of The Ballad of Emmett Till, which won the 2010 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Best Ensemble. Other plays include August Wilson’s Jitney and Freedom Theatre’s own Black Nativity, where she played Mary.
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Nancy Wu has narrated audiobooks since 2004, winning three AudioFile Earphones Awards. A New York theater, television, and film actor, she has recorded in studios all over the world—from Italy to Switzerland to Thailand. Her credits include Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Hope & Faith, All My Children, Made for Each Other, and the Oscar-nominated film Frozen River.
Paul Boehmer is an American actor best known for his numerous appearances in the Star Trek universe, in addition to Frasier, Judging Amy, Guiding Light, and All My Children. He is a 1992 Masters of Fine Arts graduate of the Professional Theater Training Program at the University of Delaware. As a narrator, Paul has won several AudioFile Earphones Awards as well as an Audie Award.
Prentice Onayemi is an Earphones Award–winning audiobook narrator and a voice and film actor who is known for his roles in The Steam-Room Crooner, AmeriQua, and as Joey in the Tony Award–winning play War Horse.
Roxana Ortega is a narrator, actress, and comedian based in Los Angeles. She studied at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and first began performing in the Bay Area. She has appeared in supporting roles in numerous films, including Evan Almighty and Miss Congeniality 2. Her television credits include Samantha Who, The Shield, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Crossing Jordan, and Journeyman.
Soneela Nankani is an award-winning narrator with over three hundred titles in many different genres including Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi, and Nonfiction. She has garnered sixteen Earphones Awards, nominations for Audie and SOVAS awards, and was recently awarded AudioFile magazine’s Golden Voice Lifetime Achievement Honor. Her audiobooks have been featured in Best Audiobooks lists by AudioFile magazine and the Washington Post, among others. In her spare time, she loves to read (yes, really), learn languages, try new recipes, and travel. She lives in the DC area with her husband and two mischievous daughters.
Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has received critics’ praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs,Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.
Vikas Adam is a classically trained actor with numerous credits in stage, film, commercials, and television, in addition to his over two hundred recorded audiobooks. His narrations have garnered numerous awards and nominations, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, various Best of the Year lists, and the prestigious Audie Award. He was an inaugural inductee into the Audible Narrator Hall of Fame.
Kyla Garcia is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator. Born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey, she discovered acting at the age of eight when she played Lady Macbeth in a children’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. She made her off-Broadway debut at fifteen when she played Dorothy in Oz: A Twisted Musical. Eleven years after she discovered her passion for acting, she would go on to play Lady Macbeth once again in London at the Globe Theatre, where she studied Shakespeare during her third year at Mason Gross School of the Arts. She received her BFA in acting from Rutgers University.
William DeMerrit is a voice talent and AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator.
Darrell Dennis is a native Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter and radio personality from the Secwepemc Nation in the interior of British Columbia. In addition to acting and comedy, Darrell is a writer whose works have been published by Playwrights Canada Press and Douglas & McIntyre Publishing. His short stories have been published in periodicals across Canada and the U.S. His first play, Trickster of Third Avenue East, was produced by Native Earth Performing Arts, which twice named Darrell their “Writer-in- Residence.” His semi-autobiographical one-man play, Tales of an Urban Indian, in which he explored themes of growing up as an indigenous First Nations Native American, was nominated for two Dora Awards and has been produced for multiple tours across Canada and the United States
N’Jameh Camara is a voice artist and Earphones Award–winning narrator.
Brittany Pressley has won several Earphones Awards as well as the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration in 2018. She has recorded over one hundred titles and has received several nominations for American Library Association’s annual list of Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults. She is also an accomplished singer-songwriter and voice actress. Her voice can be heard on national and international TV and radio commercials as well as several animated series and video games. She is a graduate of Columbia University.
James Langton, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, trained as an actor at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and later as a musician at the Guildhall School in London. He has worked in radio, film, and television, also appearing in theater in England and on Broadway. He is also a professional musician who led the internationally renowned Pasadena Roof Orchestra from 1996 to 2002.