UNDERCITIES is a short story anthology that focuses on queer narratives in an urban fantasy setting, featuring queer and POC creators.

Hexes in the subway station. Monsters in alleyways. Rituals in the back room at your local pizza place. Magic is everywhere you look in the city, if you look closely enough.

These eleven stories take the glamour off of cities as you know them to reveal the magic beneath. From selkies and sweets in Saint Thomas to secret-spilling potions in Brasília to faeries and werewolves in Toronto, you’ll find that magic and the myriad kinds of people who create it are right where they always have been: everywhere around you. Explore the world as you’ve never seen it, or maybe the way you’ve always known it to be—full of magic and people as diverse and as beautiful as the world itself.

ur·ban  fan·ta·sy  (ər-bən fan-tə-sē), n.

    Describes a work that is set primarily in the real world and contains aspects of fantasy. Although stories may be set in contemporary times, this characteristic is not necessary for the fiction to be considered urban fantasy, as works of the genre may also take place in futuristic and historical settings, real or imagined.
    (Wikipedia)

More than anything, UNDERCITIES looks for stories that weave the magic of urban fantasy together with positive interpretations of race and queer sexuality. Fantasy is not homogenous; it is as diverse and imaginative and real as the LGBTQ+ authors and authors of color who create it. It is a place where anything can happen—and why not make it a space where everyone and anyone can overcome obstacles, win battles, and experience happenings beyond their wildest dreams?

Literature has always been a place where reality meets the fantastical. UNDERCITIES intends to reflect that. The stories presented in UNDERCITIES are reflections of our world as they could and should be; they combine the impossible daring of magic with the experiences of the people with whom we share the world and put the voices of LGBTQ+ creators and creators of color at the forefront of these narratives. Each short story presented in UNDERCITIES presents a different point of view and a different experience—and each of these stories is as diverse and incredible as the authors who created them.

In August of 2016, we opened a call for applications for LGBTQ+ creators and creators of color to pitch original short stories to us that celebrated the imagination and possibility of inclusive urban fantasy. We made our selection from more than 60 applicants and are proud to present eleven incredible stories that represent fantasy the way it should be: a place for everyone to create and be the heroes of their own tales.

The book features the following talented creators:

• Ilinca Barbacuta
• Magdalena Clark
• Morgan DeBroe
• Lara Eckener
• Zina Hutton
• Dante L.
• Xian Mao
• Laura J. Moody
• Jordan Nicol
• Roan O'Connor
• Pryce Scott

Editors: Femi Sobowale / Caroline Dougherty / Rachel Maggi
Publisher: Dirty Birds Press
Page Count: 355pp
Size: 6.25 x 9.25
Notes: hardcover
Date of Publication: 2017
ISBN: 978-0692865934