Megan Giddings

"A stunning debut novel that delves fearlessly into the taboo subject of modern-day medical experimentation on African Americans"--

A Novel

Lakewood

Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times—a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored.

Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother's disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behavior raises suspicions and a woman—especially a Black woman—can find herself on trial for witchcraft.  

But fourteen years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of 30—or enroll in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At 28, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has her never understood her mother more. When she’s offered the opportunity to honor one last request from her mother's will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time.

In this powerful and timely novel, Megan Giddings explores the limits women face—and the powers they have to transgress and transcend them. 

The Women Could Fly

"Megan Giddings's prose is brimming with wonder. The Women Could Fly is a candid appraisal of grief, inheritance, and the merits of unruliness." Raven Leilani Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Deborah Harkness, and Octavia E. Butler, The Women Could Fly is a feminist speculative novel that speaks to our times. A piercing dystopian tale about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her absent mother, set in a world in which magic is real and single women are closely monitored in case they are shown to be witches . . . Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother’s disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge, because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behaviour raises suspicions and a woman – especially a Black woman – can find herself on trial for witchcraft. But fourteen years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of thirty – or enrol in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At twenty-eight, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has her never understood her mother more. When she’s offered the opportunity to honour one last request from her mother’s will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time. In this powerful and timely novel, Megan Giddings explores the limits women face – and the powers they have to transgress and transcend them.

The dark, magical dystopian novel that everyone is talking about.

Fiction. Asian & Asian American Studies. African & African American Studies. Latinx Studies. Native American Studies. Middle Eastern Studies. FORWARD: 21ST CENTURY FLASH FICTION--a print anthology of flash fiction and craft essays by writers of color--features stories by George Abraham, Reem Abu-Baker, María Isabel Álvarez, Patriz Biliran, Anna Cabe, Tyrese Coleman, Desiree Cooper, Erica Frederick, Amina Gautier, Christopher Gonzalez, Marlin M. Jenkins, Ruth Joffre, Yalie Kamara, Gene Kwak, Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint, Monterica Sade Neil, Dennis Norris II, Kristine Ong Muslim, Alvin Park, Madhvi Ramani, SJ Sindu, Maggie Su, Eshani Surya, Ursula Villarreal-Moura, Yun Wei, and C. Pam Zhang; essays by Allison Noelle Conner, Marcos Gonsalez, W. Todd Kaneko, and Alicita Rodríguez; plus an editors' roundtable with Tara Campbell, Leland Cheuk, Tyrese Coleman, and Bix Gabriel.

21st Century Flash Fiction

Forward

From the award-winning, critically-acclaimed author of Lakewood and The Women Could Fly, a dazzling novel about two brilliant sisters and what happens to their undeniable bond when a mysterious and possibly perilous new world beckons.
On an ordinary summer morning, the world is changed by the appearance of seven mysterious doors that seemingly lead to another world. People are, of course, mesmerized and intrigued: A new dimension filled with beauty and resources beckons them to step into an adventure. But, perhaps inevitably, people soon learn that what looks like paradise may very well be filled with danger.

Ayanna and Olivia, two Black midwestern teens--and twin sisters--have different ideas of what may lie in the world beyond. But will their personal bond endure such wanton exploration? And when one of them goes missing, will the other find solace on her own? And will she uncover the circumstances of what truly happened to her once constant companion and best friend?

Megan Giddings brings her customarily brilliant and eye-opening powers of storytelling to give us a narrative that dazzles the senses and bewitches the mind. Meet Me at the Crossroads is an unforgettable novel about faith, love, and family from one of today's most exciting and surprising young writers.

Meet Me at the Crossroads

Grant Faulkner

Crafting the Very Short Story

Art of Brevity

NPR Book of the Year 2020 Electric Literature: One of 55 Books by Women and Nonbinary Writers of Color to Read in 2020 | Lit Hub & The Millions: Most Anticipated Books of 2020 | Ms. Magazine: Anticipated 2020 Feminist Books | Refinery29: Books by Black Women We are Looking Forward To Reading | One of The Millions' Most Anticipated Reads of 2020 | An Audible Editor's Pick | An Essence Pick| A Glamour Must Read | A Ms. Magazine Anticipated Read of 2020 A stunning debut novel about class and race "reminiscent of Jordan Peele's terrifying film Get Out" (Essence), that delves fearlessly into diabolical medical experimentation on African Americans, now available in a convenient pocket-sized portable Nomad Edition. When Lena Johnson's beloved grandmother dies, and the full extent of the family debt is revealed, the black millennial drops out of college to support her family and takes a job in the mysterious and remote town of Lakewood, Michigan. On paper, her new job is too good to be true. High paying. No out of pocket medical expenses. A free place to live. All Lena has to do is participate in a secret program--and lie to her friends and family about the research being done in Lakewood. An eye drop that makes brown eyes blue, a medication that could be a cure for dementia, golden pills promised to make all bad thoughts go away. The discoveries made in Lakewood, Lena is told, will change the world--but the consequences for the subjects involved could be devastating. As the truths of the program reveal themselves, Lena learns how much she's willing to sacrifice for the sake of her family. Provocative and thrilling, Lakewood is a breathtaking novel that takes an unflinching look at the moral dilemmas many working-class families face, and the horror that has been forced on black bodies in the name of science.

The very first story collection from the critically acclaimed, visionary author of the novels Lakewood, The Women Could Fly, and Meet Me at the Crossroads Over three genre-busting novels, Megan Giddings has emerged as one of the most celebrated and inspiring authors at work today. She has been compared to such luminaries as Ursula K. LeGuin, Octavia Butler, and Jordan Peele, yet her voice is singular and distinctive. Now, at long last, she presents us with a story collection that fully demonstrates the breadth and sophistication of her talent. Over the course of thirteen stories, we navigate complex family relationships, romances both troubled and charmed, and events that straddle the supernatural and the all-too-real. Among the disintegrating husbands, seductive ghosts, and artists communing with the supernatural to find their voices, Giddings establishes herself as a true investigator of modern yearning. Funny, poignant, exquisitely-rendered, and deeply moving, the stories in Black Arts further establish Megan Giddings as one of our most eagle-eyed and groundbreaking literary talents.

Stories

Black Arts

A LIBRARY READS PICK From the award-winning, critically-acclaimed author of Lakewood and The Women Could Fly, a dazzling novel about two brilliant sisters and what happens to their undeniable bond when a mysterious and possibly perilous new world beckons. On an ordinary summer morning, the world is changed by the appearance of seven mysterious doors that seemingly lead to another world. People are, of course, mesmerized and intrigued: A new dimension filled with beauty and resources beckons them to step into an adventure. But, perhaps inevitably, people soon learn that what looks like paradise may very well be filled with danger. Ayanna and Olivia, two Black midwestern teens—and twin sisters—have different ideas of what may lie in the world beyond. But will their personal bond endure such wanton exploration? And when one of them goes missing, will the other find solace on her own? And will she uncover the circumstances of what truly happened to her once constant companion and best friend? Megan Giddings brings her customarily brilliant and eye-opening powers of storytelling to give us a narrative that dazzles the senses and bewitches the mind. Meet Me at the Crossroads is an unforgettable novel about faith, love, and family from one of today’s most exciting and surprising young writers.

Steve Almond

Cris Mazza

Rick Moody

Stephen Dixon

Edward Gauvin

Weston Cutter

Thomas Owen

Jesse Damiani

Richard Peabody

Rae Bryant

Kyle Noe

Lindsay Lusby

Andrew Roe

Morgan Elliot

Marjorie Maddox

Jason Olsen

Chad Simpson

Moira Egan

David Everett

Billie Tadros

David Wagoner

Ogun Afariogun

Jill Birdsall

Nathan Blake

Carlyn Davis

Matt Ferner

Suzanne Hopcroft

Don Hucks

Len Kuntz

Alexis Covato

B. J. Lloyd

Bird Marathe

Jacob Oet

Joseph A. W. Quintela

Chas Schroeder

The Size Queens

Michael Shum

Vallie Lynn Watson

John Silbey Williams

Britt Gambino

Chelsey Clammer

Gabriela Romeri

Vipra Ghimire

Lisa A. Dulin

Mark Farrington

"Eclectic selection of work from both emerging and established writers...." (The Washington Post), Eckleburg is a collection of stories, poetry, translations, and artwork by award-winning and emerging talents such as Rick Moody, Stephen Dixon, Cris Mazza, and Eckleburg's 2013 Gertrude Stein Award in Fiction winner, Jill Birdsall. Eckleburg No. 18 is a textual and graphic innovation for both the traditionalists and nonconformists.

The Doctor T. J. Eckleburg Review No. 18

Reminiscent of the works of Margaret Atwood, Shirley Jackson, and Octavia Butler, a biting social commentary from the acclaimed author of Lakewood that speaks to our times—a piercing dystopian novel about the unbreakable bond between a young woman and her mysterious mother, set in a world in which witches are real and single women are closely monitored. Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother's disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behavior raises suspicions and a woman—especially a Black woman—can find herself on trial for witchcraft. But fourteen years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt. The State mandates that all women marry by the age of 30—or enroll in a registry that allows them to be monitored, effectively forfeiting their autonomy. At 28, Jo is ambivalent about marriage. With her ability to control her life on the line, she feels as if she has her never understood her mother more. When she’s offered the opportunity to honor one last request from her mother's will, Jo leaves her regular life to feel connected to her one last time. In this powerful and timely novel, Megan Giddings explores the limits women face—and the powers they have to transgress and transcend them.

Quando a amada avó de Lena Johnson morre e toda a proporção da dívida da família é revelada, ela deixa a faculdade para sustentar sua família e arruma um emprego na misteriosa e remota cidade de Lakewood, em Michigan. Na teoria, seu novo trabalho é bom demais para ser verdade: salário alto, sem despesas médicas e com um lugar para morar. Tudo que Lena precisa fazer é participar de um programa secreto – e mentir para seus amigos e familiares sobre a pesquisa que está sendo feita ali. As descobertas feitas em Lakewood, mudarão o mundo – mas as consequências para os sujeitos envolvidos podem ser devastadoras. Conforme as verdades do programa se revelam, Lena compreende o quão forte é quando o assunto é sua família. Provocativo e emocionante, Projeto Lakewood é um romance de tirar o fôlego, com um olhar especial aos dilemas morais que muitas famílias da classe trabalhadora enfrentam e o horror que foi imposto aos corpos – em sua maioria, corpos negros – em nome da ciência.

Projeto Lakewood

Megan Giddings

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