Akashic Books continues its groundbreaking series of original noir anthologies, launched with the summer '04 award-winning best seller Brooklyn Noir. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective geographic range of the book. This anthology, with stories set in different prisons across the US, presents an absolutely new perspective on prison literature.
"Reading the fifteen stories in Prison Noir is a sobering experience. Unlike most claimants to that much-abused term, this is the real thing... The power of this collection comes from the voices of these authors, voices suffused with rage ('3 Block From Hell,' by Bryan K. Palmer), despair ('There Will Be Seeds for Next Year,' by Zeke Caligiuri), and madness ('Shuffle,' by Christopher M. Stephen)."
New York Times Book Review
"These are stories that resonate with authenticity and verve and pain and truth. Any collection edited by the National Book Award-winning author Oates (them; Blonde, Rape: A Love Story) deserves attention, but the contributors are deft and confident, and great writers without her imprimatur... Authentic, powerful, visceral, moving, great writing."
Library Journal, Starred review
"A remarkable anthology of stories written by inmates of correctional institutions across America... Most importantly, this landmark volume amplifies the voices of the incarcerated."
