Virgin Islands Noir

On the heels of Haiti Noir, Trinidad Noir, Kingston Noir, Havana Noir, and San Juan Noir, the Akashic Noir Series dives even deeper into foreboding, luminous Caribbean literature.

BRAND-NEW STORIES BY: Tiphanie Yanique, Richard Georges, Raven Phillips, Gillian Royes, Tobias S. Buckell, Cadwell Turnbull, Johanna Gibson, Eugenia O’Neal, Celeste Rita Baker, Nisha Khiani Savara, Sophia Aubin, Rea Vanterpool, Vince Omni, Traci O’Dea, and Hadiya Sewer.

From the Introduction by Tiphanie Yanique & Richard Georges:
“The writers here represent the greater Virgin Islands, made up of the territories separated, by colonialism, into the British Virgin Islands and the United States Virgin Islands. In sidestepping this political distinction, we honor both the everyday experiences of Virgin Islanders as well as the creative possibilities of fiction . . .

“Virgin Islanders keep our secrets close―especially the darker ones. We want to ensure we make a good impression―especially if our livelihoods depend on it, which they often do. For us, Virgin Islands Noir is a major anthology―one of the first to likely reach beyond the islands themselves. But the Virgin Islands is a place literally named for an innocence fearful of exploitation, so it was initially discomforting to many of the writers here that this vision of us would be in noir―a literary genre that highlights crime and disturbia. Over a number of years, the editors charged the storytellers here to write real . . . [O]ne way to claim you exist as a fully complex humanity is to admit that you also have your dangerous sides. Sometimes, maybe, we will be the ones to devour you.”