USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series

Description

Launched with the 2004 award-winning bestseller Brooklyn Noir, Akashic Books has published over 60 volumes in its ground-breaking series of original noir anthologies. Each book is comprised of all-new stories, each one set in a distinct neighbourhood or location within the city of the book. After nine years, hundreds of short stories from the world's greatest authors and unbridled praise from critics, the greatest hits of the Akashic Noir series can now be found in one book. Fans of the series and noir fiction in general will be engrossed by this excellent collection.

Johnny Temple is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Akashic Books, an award-winning Brooklyn-based independent company dedicated to publishing urban literary fiction and political nonfiction. He won the 2013 Ellery Queen Award, the American Association of Publishers' 2005 Miriam Bass Award for Creativity in Independent Publishing; and the 2010 Jay and Dean Kogan Award for Excellence in Noir Literature. Temple teaches courses on the publishing business at Wilkes University and Wesleyan University; and is the Chair of the Brooklyn Literary Council, which works with Brooklyn's borough president to plan the annual Brooklyn Book Festival. He also plays bass guitar in the band Girls Against Boys, which has toured extensively across the globe and released numerous albums on independent and major record companies. He has contributed articles and political essays to various publications, including The Nation, Publishers Weekly, AlterNet, Poets & Writers, and BookForum.

"In USA Noir we are treated to range of tales by accomplished writers, and reflecting the diversity of the nation. Each draws on the dark worlds, flawed characters, and jaded mood intrinsic to the genre we have come to call Noir. If you're a fan, you're in for a real treat. If you're not a fan, try it--you just might change your mind." --Reviewing the Evidence "The stories in USA Noir keep the reader guessing and waiting for the unavoidable plot twist at the end without having to sit through chapters of character development or side stories. Like good noir, everything is quick and dirty, keeps the reader engaged and shows that there is a little sex, violence and sleaziness in all of us, regardless of location." --Denver Post's Yourhub "So, thanks a million to antho editor and Akashic Books head honcho Johnny Temple for doing such a crackerjack job of overloading my schedule with these dark and dirty pleasures." --Austin Chronicle "The sultry, mysterious tone plays out like Lynch writing an old pulp paperback. Much to love here." --Metro Times Blog (Detroit) "In a way, the noir series at Akashic has always been a best of so you can't really miss picking this one up." --Brooklyn Based "This is, without question, a must-have collection that serves equally well as an introduction to each of the authors as it does the Noir series itself. Regardless if you read the stories in the order presented, or go directly to those by some of your favorites, you'll find USA Noir on your nightstand or reading table for many nights." --Bookgasm "This book is full of little gems that can be picked up, read and enjoyed in less than 10 minutes, and as the mother of a young child, this collection is the perfect answer when all I have is a few minutes of uninterrupted reading time." --NY Spender "An excellent cross-section of today's noir writers." --SKJAM! Reviews "For Christmas, someone could give me USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series--a good way to offset all the goodwill and frivolity." --The Observer (UK) "Hold the eggnog: What you need is a draft of 'edgy fatalism and sexy recklessness, ' of flashy crime, gallows humor, and 'desperate deals with a variety of devils, ' served up every year since 2004 by the editors of Akashic Books' brilliant noir anthologies. From Brooklyn to Boston, from Phoenix to pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans, each volume in the series reveals a city's distinctive inner darkness." --O, the Oprah Magazine "Over the past few years, some of the best collections of short stories have been the Noir anthologies published by Akashic...To me, these collections are total gems, a quality read from some of today's best authors." --Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel "In USA Noir we are treated to range of tales by accomplished writers, and reflecting the diversity of the nation. Each draws on the dark worlds, flawed characters, and jaded mood intrinsic to the genre we have come to call Noir. If you're a fan, you're in for a real treat. If you're not a fan, try it--you just might change your mind." --Reviewing the Evidence "The stories in USA Noir keep the reader guessing and waiting for the unavoidable plot twist at the end without having to sit through chapters of character development or side stories. Like good noir, everything is quick and dirty, keeps the reader engaged and shows that there is a little sex, violence and sleaziness in all of us, regardless of location." --Denver Post's Yourhub "So, thanks a million to antho editor and Akashic Books head honcho Johnny Temple for doing such a crackerjack job of overloading my schedule with these dark and dirty pleasures." --Austin Chronicle "The sultry, mysterious tone plays out like Lynch writing an old pulp paperback. Much to love here." --Metro Times Blog (Detroit) "In a way, the noir series at Akashic has always been a best of so you can't really miss picking this one up." --Brooklyn Based "This is, without question, a must-have collection that serves equally well as an introduction to each of the authors as it does the Noir series itself. Regardless if you read the stories in the order presented, or go directly to those by some of your favorites, you'll find USA Noir on your nightstand or reading table for many nights." --Bookgasm "This book is full of little gems that can be picked up, read and enjoyed in less than 10 minutes, and as the mother of a young child, this collection is the perfect answer when all I have is a few minutes of uninterrupted reading time." --NY Spender "An excellent cross-section of today's noir writers." --SKJAM! Reviews "For Christmas, someone could give me USA Noir: Best of the Akashic Noir Series--a good way to offset all the goodwill and frivolity." --The Observer (UK) "Hold the eggnog: What you need is a draft of 'edgy fatalism and sexy recklessness, ' of flashy crime, gallows humor, and 'desperate deals with a variety of devils, ' served up every year since 2004 by the editors of Akashic Books' brilliant noir anthologies. From Brooklyn to Boston, from Phoenix to pre- and post-Katrina New Orleans, each volume in the series reveals a city's distinctive inner darkness." --O, the Oprah Magazine "Over the past few years, some of the best collections of short stories have been the Noir anthologies published by Akashic...To me, these collections are total gems, a quality read from some of today's best authors." --Oline Cogdill, Sun-Sentinel