Dreams for a Broken World

"This anthology offers seriously admirable work. Highly recommended.” —Arley Sorg, Lightspeed Magazine
"24 impressive stories of healing and rebuilding...These hopeful stories offer something for any speculative fiction reader." —Publishers Weekly
"Some of these stories explore a world that is fully broken, others are focused on when it just begins to crack. But what's clear above all is that the world breaks for some groups of people much earlier than others. An inclusive and adept anthology in which each story is a facet for a different perspective on where we've gone—or will go—wrong."
—Brian Evenson
"A thoughtful, diverse collection hewing closely to the themes of connection and devotion—tender reunions, heartbreaking partings, misplaced loyalty, friendship, romance, parenthood, these character-focused stories have it all."
—Premee Mohamed
Why collect stories about our Dreams for a Broken World?
Because our world is broken. Our society is rife with injustice and inequality, war and environmental disaster, racism and hatred.
Stories help us imagine other futures. Stories inspire us. When we read, or write, about individuals and communities fighting for justice, we grow to believe in these possibilities. Maybe we even join the characters, breaking through barriers and building new connections.
This anthology draws from both genre and literary traditions to dream together about a more just world. Included here are original stories, reprints, and novel excerpts. The mix of genres, from literary to fantastical, from dark to playful, from speculative to activist, offers perspectives that are varied, imaginative, thoughtful, and provocative.
Our TOC
Dreams for a Broken World brings together twenty-four authors who've generously offered up their work for this project:
Andrew Altschul, Joy Baglio, Innocent Chizarama Ilo, Breena Clarke, Zig Zag Claybourne, Tina Egnoski, Cai Emmons, JoeAnn Hart, Ava Homa, Céline Keating, Aimee Liu, Jan Maher, Usman T. Malik, Benjamin Parzybok, Charles Payseur, Robert V.S. Redick, Veronica Schanoes, Nisi Shawl, Vandana Singh, Lisa Taylor, Sheree Renée Thomas, Marie Vibbert, Cynthia Young, and Sabrina Vourvoulias.
Their work traverses an array of styles, genres, and subject matter. And yet themes connect each of these stories. What does it mean to live in a fractured and uncertain world? How do we face the ugliness? How do we find a better way forward?
Us
Dreams for a Broken World is the second charity anthology in the Dreams series published by Essential Dreams Press, an imprint of Reckoning Press; charity means that all the proceeds from sales are donated to a non-profit doing work to fix our broken world.
Ellen Meeropol joins series editor Julie C. Day as guest co-editor of this second book in the series, a fundraiser for the Rosenberg Fund for Children. The RFC is a non-profit, public foundations that aids children in the U.S. whose parents are targeted, progressive activists. They also assist youth who themselves have been targeted as a result of their progressive activities.
Can stories change the world? Not alone. But as poet Martín Espada wrote, "Any oppressive social condition, before it can be changed, must be named and condemned in words that persuade by stirring the emotions, awakening the senses."
Naming. Condemning. Stirring. Awakening. That's what we hope these stories will do for all of us.