What forces shape the different paths we take in life, or otherwise serve to close off those roads? James Hannaham transports readers of Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta to Brooklyn, bringing to life its community and those who persevere in the face of unjust political institutions and the prison system. In Jonathan Escoffery’s linked story collection If I Survive You, a family immigrates from Jamaica in pursuit of the American dream, but quickly realize that they must rely on sheer grit and their love for each other in order to survive—dealing with much more than they had anticipated. In Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s Woman of Light, an Indigenous Chicana girl uncovers her family’s stories, fighting to preserve them against cultural erasure. Moderated by Kristen Arnett (With Teeth).
