A Preponderance of Starry Beings
Perhaps they will not resign
themselves to their fates after all. It’s possible, maybe. Don’t count them
out, is all she’s saying, because even without wings, there are still a few
hungry wild-hearted humans who believe they can fly.
17 genre-bending stories of the cosmos and the worlds within our own skin
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| Published by Northwestern University Press, 2025. |
Blending fairy tale and science fiction with the otherworldliness of adolescence, A Preponderance of Starry Beings is a collection for anyone prone to gazing skyward. These stories probe the experience of coming of age on the outskirts of the universe, whether that be a small Midwestern town or a distant galaxy, and of weighing earthly obligations against the vast promises of space.
In a sleepy Ohio neighborhood,
two girls seek refuge from their homophobic schoolmates in an antiques shop
filled with Star Trek memorabilia. On a generation spaceship,
children revolt against their parents’ plans to colonize a distant world. Deep
in the Florida Everglades, seven sisters must protect their otherworldly
mythology when two men arrive to fix the family automobile. These are but a few
of the stories in A Preponderance of Starry Beings, where Edmonds invites
us into a mundane and whimsical world full of night islands, small towns, and
faith lost and found, where a safe landing matters less than taking the leap.
Monkeybicycle: “Eve Choking” (published as “Semele Burning”)
“Colliding the fabulist worlds of Calvino and Bender to create a literary tear in space/time, Edmonds draws readers closer to an event horizon where genre, adolescence, parenthood, and identity swirl in a maelstrom of almost becoming. These stories vibrate emotion and possibility amidst the fabric of the cosmos and mark the arrival of an imaginative talent that should be watched. Daring, often tragic, and filled with star stuff.” —Sequoia Nagamatsu, best selling author of How High We Go in the Dark
“Edmonds masterfully combines the
magic of space, science, mystery, wonder, and the weirdness of youth, all
colliding into an incredible collection of stories. Evocative and ethereal,
this book is anchored in the stars.” —Amber Sparks, author of And
I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges