Journey with twenty-one speculative fiction authors through the fractured borders of human migration to examine assumptions and catch a glimpse of the dreams, struggles, and triumphs of those who choose—or are forced—to leave home and familiar places. Who straddle borders within our worlds—and within us.
Migration. A transformation of time, place, and being . . .
WHO ARE THE SHADES WITHIN US?
We are called drifters, nomads. We are expatriates, evacuees, and pilgrims. We are colonists, aliens, explorers; strangers, visitors--intruders, conquerors--exiles, asylum seekers, and . . . outsiders.
An American father shields his son from Irish discrimination. A Chinese foreign student wrestles to safeguard her family at the expense of her soul. A college graduate is displaced by technology. A Nigerian high school student chooses between revenge and redemption. A bureaucrat parses the mystery of Taiwanese time travellers. A defeated alien struggles to assimilate into human culture. A Czechoslovakian actress confronts the German WWII invasion. A child crosses an invisible border wall. And many more.
Stories that transcend borders, generations, and cultures. Each is a glimpse into our human need in face of change: to hold fast to home, to tradition, to family; and yet to reach out, to strive for a better life.
Foreword------------------------------------------------------------------ Lucas K. Law
Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------- Eric Choi & Gillian Clinton
Porque el girasol se llama el girasol------------------------------------- Rich Larson
Inkskinned---------------------------------------------------------------- Jeremy Szal
Defender of Mogadun------------------------------------------------------- Alex Shvartsman
Gilbert Tong’s Life List-------------------------------------------------- Kate Heartfield
The Marsh of Camarina----------------------------------------------------- Matthew Kressel
Invasio------------------------------------------------------------------- Karin Lowachee
Habitat------------------------------------------------------------------- Christie Yant
The Travellers------------------------------------------------------------ Amanda Sun
Critical Mass------------------------------------------------------------- Liz Westbrook-Trenholm
Screen in Silver, Love in Colour, Mirror in Black-and-White--------------- Julie Nováková
How My Life Will End------------------------------------------------------ Vanessa Cardui
From the Shoals of Broken Cities------------------------------------------ Heather Osborne
In a Bar by the Ocean, the World Waits------------------------------------ Hayden Trenholm
Imago--------------------------------------------------------------------- Elsie Chapman
Shades of Void------------------------------------------------------------ Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
Superfreak---------------------------------------------------------------- Tonya Liburd
The Vagabond of Trudeau High---------------------------------------------- Sarah Raughley
The Swordmaster of Ravenpeak---------------------------------------------- Brent Nichols
Remember the Green-------------------------------------------------------- Seanan McGuire
Devouring Tongues--------------------------------------------------------- S.L. Huang
Voices-------------------------------------------------------------------- Tyler Keevil
Afterword----------------------------------------------------------------- Susan Forest
Acknowledgements
About The Contributors
About The Editors
Copyright Acknowledgements
Appendix: Mental Health Resources & Anti-Discrimination Resources
Book Cover and Interior Design by Samantha M. Beiko
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is an action or a decision to treat a person or a group negatively or unfavourably for reasons such as national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual preference, marital status, family status, and disability.
For more information:
Information on bullying, resources on bullying and prevention
Cyberbullying Research Centre: Facts, Information, Blogs, and Resources
What is mental illness?
Mental illness affects how a person thinks, feels and behaves. It includes depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders.
For more information:
http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/your-mental-health/
http://www.cmha.ca/mental-health/understanding-mental-illness/
Booklist (American Library Association)
"Shades within Us is the fourth of the Laksa Anthology Series (after Where the Stars Rise, 2017), collections of speculative fiction dedicated to different social issues. The first three approached mental health, caregiving, and Asian identity; the newest installment addresses issues surrounding migration and borders at a very poignant moment in history. The very first story delves into the horror, pain, and inherent racism of a border wall; despite being speculative, many of these stories read like they were ripped from present-day headlines. The book goes beyond immigration, though, exploring what it means not only to physically migrate to a new place but also to face complex personal challenges and move away from comfortable mindsets. Readers are encouraged to understand that our journeys in life do not start and stop when we find new homes but rather are a series of constant, ongoing experiences that have an impact on who we are entirely. The many authors highlighted by this collection do a great job of asking readers not only to reflect on their own lives but also to consider the lives of others."--Rachel Colias Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal
"Library Journal Review
A young girl finds that getting beyond the Wall means a trip among the layers of her world in Rich Larson's "Porque el Girasol se llama el Girasol." Battle games and movie invasions have nothing on real life in Karin Lowachee's "Invasio." In Amanda Sun's "The Travellers," one man assesses Taiwanese time-traveling migrants, while a family must "Remember the Green" as they are forced into city living in Seanan McGuire's short work. Twenty-one stories take readers through the minds and actions of migration: both in real and imagined places, by force or their own volition. The movement is more than physical, as the need to reassess personal convictions comes through all of these writings. Topics such as family and home are at the core, with issues of discrimination and mental health also present. VERDICT An engaging collection of poignant travel through time and space. Highly recommended for its breadth of stories that look at having to leave home-or discover it."--Kristi Chadwick, -Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
School Library Journal
"In this third installment in the series, 21 established authors tackle the subject of human migration. An introduction page explains that migration is more than simply a change in location but also an alteration in mind and spirit. Short, speculative stories explore this idea of migration of the soul, mind, and spirit. They also examine the concept of fractured borders, both visible and invisible; there is a price to be paid for attaining a new life or reality. All tales have some otherworldly component whether fantasy, science fiction, or paranormal. Particularly strong offerings include Rich Larson's chilling "Porque El Girasol Se Llama El Girasol." Young Girasol and her mother join refugees fleeing a futuristic Mexico into the United States, but they must travel through a dangerous, heavily armed border wall. Amanda Sun's "The Travellers" and Sarah Raughley's "The Vagabond of Trudeau High" are other standouts. Many selections are no longer than eight pages in length, although a few are as short as two pages and others as long as 15. This volume includes sections about the contributors and the editors as well as mental health and antidiscrimination resources. VERDICT An intriguing addition to short story collections."--Kristen Rademacher, Marist High School, Chicago © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.
Speculating Canada
"Shades Within Us is a timely collection that invites us to ask whether we still do (or still should) live in a space of national borders and national definitions of identity. It invites us to use our speculative imagination to think through new ways of understanding selfhood in relation to the borders, boxes, and categories that are placed around us."--Derek Newman-Stille
More . . .
Foreword Reviews(July/August 2018)
"Borders both real and imagined, dystopian futures caused by catastrophic climate change, and devastating alterations of the past vivify the twenty-one stories of Shades Within Us. In the tradition of speculative and science fiction, the collection explores some of the most divisive issues of the present through the guise of different times, dimensions, and characters. The stories range from epistolary to lyrical to traditional narratives, with content that is often unexpected, frequently harrowing, and always thought-provoking.
The volume begins powerfully, imagining a U.S.-Mexico border that morphs into a metaphorical, multidimensional
space. Other stories call forth equally engaging situations: A disapproving father reunites with a son who has been modified with gills to live underwater. An alien from a defeated planet sneaks his language into his new world by etching it onto his body. Temporal engineers from the future create tunnels that return them to the past as refugees from an unknown future. A farm family endures a resettlement from the green place to the gray, but the power to find the green still grows within them. Nazi Germany is evoked to create a space for speculation or supernatural interference.
With each story, the authors expand their settings and reality into a universe of broader potential to make sense of the tensions that plague the twenty-first century. Even as they represent foreign existences, the problems remain the same—family, love, belonging, identity, survival. Immigrants still work to make new homes, and government still debates their care, entrance, and control.
A few of the stories revisit well-worn tropes, but most take a fresh approach to their subjects and conjure terrifying futures brought on by climate change, greed, and corruption of power. Political and daring, this collection adds to the future imagined by Philip K. Dick, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, and Aldous Huxley."--Camille-Yvette Welsch (br/)
NetGalley
"Interesting collection that touches on the ideas of identity and belonging that is very prevalent in the current climate." A D (Reviewer)
"ARC Copy...extremely interesting collection of stories depicting tales of migration/movement across borders of many kinds and the genres literally from range various garments of sci-fi, fantasy...genres don't even have category fitting for an anthology about messing with borders." Squid G (Reviewer)
More . . .
We recognize that not everyone has the resources to buy this anthology, Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders. Since understanding different cultures and perspectives is such an important subject, please help us to reach as many readers as possible. Our dream is to have every library in the world having this anthology available for its library users.
We realize that library worldwide has limited budget, so we offer perpetual licensing of our e-book to libraries through Overdrive (i.e. we do not restrict the number of times an ebook can be lent in order not to force libraries to repurchase the same ebook over and over). Also available through cloudLibrary (Bibliotheca)
One easy way you can help us is to submit or suggest this title to your local library (if this book resonates with you). It takes only a few minutes to complete online at your local library (usually under heading: Suggest a Title).
What you need for the library:
Title: Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders
Author: Edited by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law
ISBN: 978-1-988140-08-7(HC), 978-1-988140-05-6(PB), 978-1-988140-06-3(eBook)
Publisher: Laksa Media Groups Inc.
Notes/Comments (to the library): The anthology (dealing with migrations, identities, and belonging) is recommended by Booklist and Foreword Reviews. Also available through Overdrive and cloudLibrary (eBook: 9781988140063)
Help Us to Change the World, One Book at a Time
August 11, 2018 – 3 PM
Calgary, AB (Fireside Room, Delta Hotel Calgary South, 135 Southland Drive SE)
When Words Collide (Pre-Book Launch Panel: Writing to a Theme)
Susan Forest, Lucas K. Law, Brent Nichols, Heather Osborne with special guest, Vanessa Cardui
One important market for authors is the themed anthology. What are the upsides and pitfalls when submitting to this type of market? How can a theme be inspiring or frustrating, and what do you do with a themed story that is not accepted? What is the publisher's motivation for choosing to have an anthology themed, and how do readers respond? Authors and editors from Laksa Media's "Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders" discuss their past and current experiences.
October 12 - 14, 2018
October 13, 2018 (11 AM) Shades Within Us Hour: hosted by Eric Choi and Gillian Clinton
October 14, 2018 (11 AM) Writing to a Theme: moderated by Susan Forest
Ottawa, ON
Can-Con Ottawa(2 panels and 1 reading session)
Eric Choi, Gillian Clinton, Kate Heartfield, Susan Forest, Rich Larson, Sarah Raughley, Amanda Sun, Hayden Trenholm, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm
2019 (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award (Best Related Work category) Finalist
Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders (ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law)
2019 Alberta Book Publishing Award (Speculative Fiction of the Year category) Winner
Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders (ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law)
2018 Foreword INDIES Award (Best Anthology category) Finalist
Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders (ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law)
2019 Locus Award (Best Anthology category) longlist
Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders (ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law)
Selected by Locus 2018 Recommended Reading List (Original Anthologies category)
Shades Within Us: Tales of Migrations and Fractured Borders (ed. by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law)
One finalist in the 2019 (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award Short Fiction category
Critical Mass by Liz Westbrook-Trenholm
One longlisted in the 2019 The Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic Award Short Fiction category
The Travellers by Amanda Sun
