A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers

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