Latin American Shared Stories

From pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, via the powerful figure of Santa Muerte, to racism in the Bronx, this anthology of speculative stories and essays by Latin American writers, about Latin American life and beyond, is an engrossing and important read.

This vibrant anthology presents a selection of speculative stories and fascinating essays highlighting the many voices, mythologies, folklore and storytelling prowess of authors from Latin American countries or writing in the traditions of the Latin American diaspora.

Edited by the wonderful V. Castro, Mexican-American speculative, horror and sci-fi writer extraordinaire and author of Mestiza Blood and The Queen of the Cicadas, the authors featured are: Hector Acosta, Alyssa Alessi, Gustavo Bondoni, David Bowles, Arasibo Campeche and Carra Flowers, Dr. R. Andrew Chesnut, Angel Luis Colón, Rios de la Luz, Ivette N. Diaz, Laura Diaz de Arce, J.F. Gonzalez, L.P. Hernandez, Pedro Iniguez, Ruth Joffre, S. Alessandro Martinez, Juliana Spink Mills, Vanessa Molina, Mo Moshaty, Richie Narvaez, Wi-Moto Nyoka, Daniel A. Olivas, Monique Quintana, A.E. Santana and Richard Z. Santos.These are complemented by new stories selected from open submissions.

Spanning the many cultures of the region, stories range from those that explore heritage and the importance of ancestors to ones that imagine new worlds and futures, but at their core they all celebrate and give agency to oft-underrepresented Latin American characters and concerns, while the book will help counter the lack of contemporary Latin American literature.

The Flame Tree Beyond and Within short story collections bring together tales of myth and imagination by modern and contemporary writers, carefully selected by anthologists, and sometimes featuring short stories from a single author. Overall, the series presents a wide range of diverse and inclusive voices with myth, folkloric-inflected short fiction, and an emphasis on the supernatural, science fiction, the mysterious and the speculative. The books themselves are gorgeous, with foiled covers, printed edges and published only in hardcover editions, offering a lifetime of reading pleasure.

V. Castro (Editor) is a two-time Bram Stoker Award nominated Mexican American writer from San Antonio, Texas, now residing in the UK. She writes horror, erotic horror, and science fiction. Her books include Immortal Pleasures, The Haunting of Alejandra, Alien: Vasquez, Mestiza Blood, The Queen of the Cicadas, Out of Aztlan, Las Posadas, Rebel Moon (official Netflix film novelization) and Goddess of Filth. Her forthcoming book is The Pink Agave Motel from Clash Books. Connect with Violet via Instagram and Twitter @vlatinalondon or www.vcastrostories.com. She can also be found on Blue Sky, Goodreads and Amazon. TikTok @vcastrobooks, Pinterest @V. Castro

Jorge González (Illustrator of cover detail and frontispiece) is an award-winning artist and painter from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has created editorial illustrations for The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine, among others, and has illustrated numerous books and graphic novels.