Black Lawrence Press Presents MONARCH: Stories that subvert the reader’s common perceptions about how love can heal, how loss and suffering can transform, and how every character deserves a second chance. America’s city scars, sewers, alleyways, and bars are landscape to their wars, as characters heal and transform under wind turbines and on open roads, in golden cornfields and with the wails of Chicago blues. Heroes in this collection are the marginalized, the sufferers, the down-trodden, the misfits, the wanderers, and the wounded, shaped by grief but not defined by their scars.

Honoring the human capacity for change, characters drive the collection, turning up the dial to raise the volume of voice for those who live on the fringe and are often ignored. In collection, MONARCH is an exploration of the human condition through a lens of damaged survivors as they learn to love through small acts of kindness, given and received. Characters bear traumas with their bodies, and often, they transgress. They break in, break down, and ultimately, break open.

An inclusive invitation, MONARCH aims at an intimate portrayal of scarred characters on American streets beating the drum of current culture against the fierce rhythm of critical social justice issues. With this at its heart, the collection Includes a reading guide written by the author with prompts intended to inspire discourse between readers, writers, and students, making the work of special interest to librarians, teachers, book clubs, and beyond.

Foreword by Chris Abani, author of The Secret History of Las Vegas.

Stories in MONARCH have been said to be poetic, each holding its own rhythm. In the spirit of multi-medium artistic collaboration, Owen Lyman-Schmidt of the Philadelphia-based band, Driftwood Soldier, has created original music and lyrics as inspired by stories in MONARCH. Author, Emily Jon Tobias, will be joined by Owen on the East Coast leg of her book tour this fall. At that time, the songs will be available for download as part of a special edition release of the work. Until then, we offer a video recording of one of the tracks here, free of charge, to enhance your reading experience. Please enjoy "Coyote Love" by Driftwood Soldier, a song inspired by the story "Vida."

Soon to be available for download from Driftwood Soldier: "Coyote Love" inspired by "Vida" "Heavyweight Champion of Venice Beach" inspired by "Nova" "Two or Three Times" inspired by "Mouth Organ"