Ancient, Ancient

Winner of the 2012 James Tiptree Jr. Award, Ancient, Ancient collects the short fiction by Kiini Ibura Salaam, of which acclaimed author and critic Nalo Hopkinson writes, ''Salaam treats words like the seductive weapons they are. She wields them to weave fierce, gorgeous stories that stroke your sensibilities, challenge your preconceptions, and leave you breathless with their beauty.'' In naming Ancient, Ancient one of the Best Fantasy and Science Fiction Books of 2012, Jeff VanderMeer writes, "Magic and sexuality permeate these stories that seek the emotional core of their characters. Interesting settings and Salaam's exuberant but controlled prose help to anchor narratives that are continually question, pushing for something beyond the usual." Indeed, Ms. Salaam's stories are so permeated with sensuality that in her introduction to Ancient, Ancient, Nisi Shawl, author of the award-winning Filter House, writes, ''Sexuality-cum-sensuality is the experiential link between mind and matter.... And it is the throbbing, glistening heart of Kiini's body of work. This book is alive. Be not afraid.''

  ''Kiini Ibura Salaam's collection of short fiction, Ancient, Ancient, demonstrates that she deserves to be considered one of today's most promising contemporary genre writers. With writing that challenges assumptions on gender, the nature of fantasy, the uses of myth and much more, she offers the readers stories that they will not soon forget. A marvelous introduction to a marvelous writer.''--Jack Womack, author of Random Acts of Senseless Violence

'''Kiini Ibura Salaam is a natural-born storyteller and a gorgeous writer who chooses her characters and words with the care and skill of a poet. Her stories are transformative, wise and vivid with the quality of fantasy and fable. I loved reading this!''--Sheree Renee Thomas, author of Shotgun Lullabies: Stories and Poems and editor of the award-winning Dark Matter anthologies

This collection of moving stories interleaves many themes, perhaps the most effective for me being the alienation of the foreigner....Throughout the language is stunning, like music become words. I found my own mind dazzled and my imagination stretched to keep up with the flow of images.-- Martha Hubbard , The Future Fire

Kiini Ibura Salaam's fiction has been included in such publications as Dark Matter, Mojo: Conjure Stories, and Dark Eros. One of her earlier (and most distinctive) stories, ''Of Wings, Nectar, and Ancestors,'' was translated into Polish, and two of her short stories, ''Desire'' and ''Rosamojo,'' were praised in Publishers Weekly. Her essays have appeared in Essence, Ms., and Colonize This! Her article ''Navigating to No'' sparked a spate of radio interviews, a television appearance, and a college seminar, as well as earned a personal commentary award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Her essay No, which appeared in both Ms. Magazine and Utne Reader, was included in the Longman Publishers composition guide, Reading Into Writing. Though she was born and raised in New Orleans, Salaam lives with her daughter in Brooklyn.