Category: #Anthology

This unique anthology of crime fiction features 15 original stories of “scandals, smugglers, and other sordid tales” by award-winning Moroccan authors (CrimeReads).

At first glance, Marrakech may seem like an odd setting for noir fiction. Contemporary Moroccans call it The Joyful City—a place where locals are happy to joke about gossip and quick to forget stories of crime. But in Marrakech Noir, some of Morocco’s finest authors address old wrong that have been kept hidden behind the city’s ancient gates, and spin contemporary tales of poverty, grift, and violence in this global tourist destination.

Marrakech Noir features brand-new stories by Fouad Laroui, Allal Bourqia, Abdelkader Benali, Mohamed Zouhair, Mohamed Achaari, Hanane Derkaoui, Fatiha Morchid, Mahi Binebine, Mohamed Nedali, Halima Zine El Abidine, My Seddik Rabbaj, Yassin Adnan, Karima Nadir, Taha Adnan, and Lahcen Bakour.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Thanks to all of this diversity and difference found in just one place, Marrakech supplies everyone with what they’re looking for. The work, as a whole, does a stellar job at showcasing the city’s importance, influence, and cultures . . . Whether you’ve been to Marrakech or not, this anthology promises to take you there.
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― Asymptote Magazine

“As Adnan warns in his charming introduction, this is an unusually joy and humor-filled noir collection, although it also has its share of murders, accidents, abuse, and theft.


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― Arab Lit

“Marrakech Noir provides a convincing exploration of the noir genre, whilst balancing its own Arab literary intricacies and local eccentricities. Whether readers have been to Marrakech or not, this collection succeeds in immersing the reader in the bustling streets, glamorous riads, and darkest corners of the Red City.



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― Banipal

“Marrakech is known as Morocco’s ‘joyful city,’ and as editor of the collection Yassin Adnan details in his marvelous introduction to the anthology, it was at first difficult to gather enough stories to fill this volume in a country with no tradition of noir. Luckily for readers, the joyful city had enough scandals, smugglers, and other sordid tales to inspire writers to pay homage to the complexities of their city through crime writing.



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― CrimeReads, included in August’s Best International Crime Fiction

“Edited by Yassin Adnan, this powerful collection of diverse and unique tales dives into a Marrakech mostly unknown by outsiders. The stories paint an in-depth portrait of a city and traverse the spectrum of emotions, from joyful to sadistic.

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― Arab News

About the Author

Yassin Adnan was born in 1970 in Safi, Morocco, but grew up in Marrakech where he still lives. He is best known for his weekly cultural program Masharif on Moroccan television. He has published four collections of poetry and four books of short stories, along with a nonfiction volume entitled Marrakech: Open Secrets, with Saad Sarhane. His novel Hot Maroc, which takes place in Marrakech, was nominated for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. He is the editor of Marrakech Noir.

This unique anthology of Iraqi noir fiction collects fourteen original stories of crime, conspiracy, regret, and revenge in the capital of Iraq.

The centuries-old city of Baghdad has known many rulers, many troubles, and many crimes. But while most Iraqis would agree that their life has always been noir, there has not been a literary tradition to capture this aspect of the culture. By commissioning the fourteen stories collected here—most by Iraqi writers, all by authors familiar with Baghdad—editor Samuel Shimon and Akashic Books have created what may be the first anthology of Iraqi crime fiction ever assembled.

Here you will read of life in Baghdad both during and after the Saddam Hussein era, with stories of fear in the shadow of a ruthless dictator; kidnappings in the time of U.S. occupation; detectives who investigate political conspiracies; and tales of revenge, assassination, mental illness, and family struggle in the war-torn City of Peace.Baghdad Noir includes brand-new stories by Sinan Antoon, Ali Bader, Mohammed Alwan Jabr, Nassif Falak, Dheya al-Khalidi, Hussain al-Mozany, Layla Qasrany, Hayet Raies, Muhsin al-Ramli, Ahmed Saadawi, Hadia Said, Salima Salih, Salar Abdoh, and Roy Scranton.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A riveting collection of stories by writers based in Iraq and abroad, edited by Samuel Shimon.
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― Kirkus Reviews, featured in Radha Vatsal’s International Crime Fiction Column, “Is Noir Possible in Iraq? On International Crime Fiction, Part I

“Baghdad Noir is a monumental achievement for Akashic’s long-running Noir series. The collection goes so far beyond the Iraq most of us have been exposed to over the last twenty years and offers up a vision of this important world city in all its complexity and humanity. Crime fiction may not have a long tradition in Iraqi literature, but the authors assembled here by editor Samuel Shimon embrace the finest noir traditions by shining a critical, incisive light on their city, ravaged by war and discord but full of moments of life and hope, some fulfilled, others crushed. This is a vital book, in every sense of the word.
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― CrimeReads, included in The Best International Crime Fiction of 2018

“Most of the 14 entries in what the editor believes is probably the first collection of Iraqi crime fiction to focus on the aftermath of the 2003 American invasion are by contributors, 10 of them Iraqi, who will be unknown to U.S. readers.

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― Publishers Weekly, Fall 2018 Announcements

“Including literary heavyweights such as Ahmed Saadawi, whose novel Frankenstein in Baghdad was shortlisted for the 2018 Man Booker International Prize, Baghdad Noir offers a unique opportunity to explore the inventive genius of various authors and to read haunting stories set in a rich and diverse city.
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― Arab News

“Characters in this collection are frequently on the receiving end of unpleasant epiphanies. And as this engaging group of stories amply demonstrates, betrayal ― whether by authorities, religious leaders, neighbors, colleagues, or liberators ― is a subject that Iraqis know all too well.
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― Los Angeles Review of Books

About the Author

Samuel Shimon was born into an Assyrian family in Iraq in 1956. He is the cofounder of Banipal, the renowned international magazine of contemporary Arab literature in English translation, and the founder and editor of the popular Arabic literary website Kikah. His autobiographical novel An Iraqi in Paris was published in five languages, and he edited Beirut39, an anthology of new Arabic writin

“A stellar cast of award-winning Nigerian authors . . . a must-read for crime lovers looking for something different.”—Brittle Paper

In Akashic Books’s acclaimed series of original noir anthologies, each book comprises all new stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Now, West Africa enters the Noir Series arena, meticulously edited by one of Nigeria’s best-known authors.
In Lagos Noir, the stories are set in “a city of more than 21 million and an amazing amalgam of wealth, poverty, corruption, humor, bravery, and tragedy. Abani and a dozen other contributors tell stories that are both unique to Lagos and universal in their humanity . . . This entry stands as one of the strongest recent additions to Akashic’s popular noir series” (Publishers Weekly, starred review, pick of the week).
The anthology includes stories by Chris Abani, Nnedi Okorafor, E.C. Osondu, Jude Dibia, Chika Unigwe, A. Igoni Barrett, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Adebola Rayo, Onyinye Ihezukwu, Uche Okonkwo, Wale Lawal, ‘Pemi Aguda, and Leye Adenle.
“The beauty of this book, which contains 13 stories from Nigerian writers, is that it serves as a travelogue, too.”—Bloomberg, “The Darkest Summer Reading List for Those Bright, Beachy Days”
“With writers like Igoni Barrett, Leye Adenle, and E.C. Osondu contributing, Lagos Noir offers wildly different perspectives on both the city itself and the state of noir fiction. This book is almost like a world in itself, one that you’ll want to dive back into and get lost in again and again.”—CrimeReads, “One of the 10 Best Crime Anthologies of 2018”

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A not-to-be-missed fiction anthology edited by Chris Abani, Lagos Noir features Nigeria’s most compelling writers on the darker side of Lagos. A must-read for literary fans of all kinds.”
― The Root

“Noir comes to Africa . . . [Don’t] think for a minute that Lagos has a corner on African noir. Akashic has Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Accra, and Marrakech waiting in the wings.”
― Kirkus Reviews

“There is . . . greed, innocence, ambition, and all the trappings that make crime stories so engaging. The Lagos angle is as educating and eye-opening as it is engaging, quickly encouraging the reader to side with any protagonist, no matter how shady, because they’re still better than the corruption all around them. Well, most of the time.”
― Manhattan Book Review

“This volume is a must, as it introduces new writers of considerable talent and new works by writers you may have read and enjoyed previously . . . If you just like good stories about ordinary people with an extraordinary twist, this collection should not be missed.”
― New York Journal of Books

“In the introduction to this excellent anthology, Abani welcomes readers to Lagos, Nigeria, a city of more than 21 million and an amazing amalgam of wealth, poverty, corruption, humor, bravery, and tragedy. Abani and a dozen other contributors tell stories that are both unique to Lagos and universal in their humanity . . . This entry stands as one of the strongest recent additions to Akashic’s popular noir series.”
― Publishers Weekly, Starred Review, Pick of the Week

About the Author

Chris Abani, a Nigerian-born, award-winning poet and novelist, currently teaches at Northwestern University in Chicago. He is the recipient of a PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond Margins Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and a Guggenheim Award.