Description
A Place Between Waking and Forgetting is dark speculative fiction, an Afro-Irreal collection in which transformative stories of culture, diversity, climate change, unlimited futures, collisions of worlds, mythology, and more, inhabit. It cases black people stories in bold and evocative text, at times deeply flawed but potentially redeemable protagonists in rich hues of blackness and light. Something beautiful, something dark in lyrical language packed with affection, dread, anguish and hope.
Featuring the World Fantasy Award finalist story “The Devil Don’t Come With Horns”, this collection of short stories is the latest offering by a genre-bending, multi-award winner.
It arrives with a poetic introduction by award-winning writer and poet Linda D. Addison, the first African-American recipient of the world-renowned HWA Bram Stoker Award, and has received five awards for her collections. Addison has been honored with the HWA Lifetime Achievement Award, HWA Mentor of the Year and SFPA Grand Master of Fantastic Poetry.
What They’re Saying
“These 18 impressive speculative shorts from Bacon (Serengotti) nimbly traverse subgenres while combining rich magic and mythology with a sharp exploration of what it means to be African both in and away from Africa.”—Publishers Weekly
“…evokes a unique interplay between narrative and language reminiscent of Nalo Hopkinson. In this collection, readers will find themes of family, togetherness, loss, and more…Bacon’s work is staggeringly good, and this newest collection is a testament to her excellence. Highly recommended.”—A.E. Siraki, Booklist
“Bacon packs a great deal into a deceptively slim volume. The stories are so original and varied they merit repeat readings that will yield more discoveries each time you turn to them. And the cover art by Bizhan Khodahbandeh beautifully expresses the essence of the book.” —Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
“What a wonderful collection this is, beautifully put together and so satisfying. Bacon’s place between waking and forgetting lies somewhere in the slipstream, and there are infinities between these covers for readers to experience (far more profound than a TARDIS). It will be one of the best single-author SF collections you’ll ever read.”—Harare Review
“Eugen Bacon’s sixth and most recent collection of short stories A Place Between Waking and Forgetting (2024, Raw Dog Screaming Press) is a magical, mysterious tour de force, offering evocative prose, vivid landscapes and unforgettable characters… Bacon, a multi-award-winning African-Australian author, shows us that language is malleable and playful, and that fiction can be as wild and boundless as the space between waking and forgetting.” —pine breaks, Aniko Press
“In A Place Between Waking and Forgetting, Bacon takes readers into a dark speculative world. Her use of surrealism to explore culture, mythology, climate change and diversity, among other themes, is evocative, compelling and lyrical. With an enlightening poetic introduction by Linda D. Addison, Bacon then takes the reins with a collection of 17 short stories, which opens with the World Fantasy Award finalist ‘The Devil Don’t Come with Horns’.” —Weekend Australian