Atthis Arts, a small, indie press with a soul in Detroit and a heart of the world, is proud to present to you exclusive pre-orders for two stories that explore grief and celebrate the joy in the everyday living of life.

Your pre-orders mean the world to our team!

With the funds raised through this campaign, we can pay outstanding bills, and fund marketing toward these beautiful books, that have so much meaning to so many people.

Thank you, so much, for your support.

The Factory by poet and prose writer Ihor Mysiak, translated by Yevheniia Dubrova and Hanna Leliv, was published in its original Ukrainian in 2022, dedicated to the author’s friend who was killed by Russia while defending his home. The following spring, Ihor himself was also killed by Russia, and a global community came together to further share his deeply poetic and insightful words.

Atmospheric and meditative, Mysiak’s staccato Ukrainian storytelling paints an evocative tale of a motley and rather strange gathering of men who restore a broken-down factory aside an old, forgotten village to build and sell electronic machines assured to cause happiness. Though smoothly woven between pleasantries and mishaps, often calming, and frequently amusing, there is a deeply cutting edge of satire, fury, and rebellion to this meandering tale. In all of this, The Factory builds its own modern parable to remind the reader of love, community, and the joys of every single day, and the need—the urgency—to protect them.

Cover art and original design by Ihor Dunets, provided generously by our friends at Tempora Publishing

Songs for the Shadows by Cheryl S. Ntumy, featuring a Foreword by Wole Talabi, is the first novella published in the Sauútiverse, a collaborative world bringing together elements of African culture and storytelling.

Your feelings are of no consequence.

Shad-Dari has escaped her past, her dreams now in reach. An excavator of the valuable old sounds of Órino-Rin, she steals tiny, unheard fragments of the sacred songs to erase the painful echo of her home planet, Ekwukwe. In one rebellion too far, she sets off a chain of events that severs her from time itself, forcing her, without another way forward, to face her past.

“Set in the Sauúti universe and tightly packed with rich worldbuilding, Songs for the Shadows is crafted in beautiful prose and depth, meditating on silence and sound and song as powerful cultural entities—a magic system of sound excavation and the folding and manipulation of time that blew me away!”—Tlotlo Tsamaase, Caine Prize Finalist and author of Womb City

Cover Illustration by Akintoba Kalejaye
Cover Design and Cover Typography by Stephen Embleton

We are proud to also offer the two anthologies that brought us to these books:

Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora, edited by Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Olha Brylova, and Iryna Pasko, published by Atthis Arts

A desperate trek through the icy canyons of Mars, a doll-sized family with giant-sized opinions, a defiant princess whose fate must remain a secret… Welcome to the wild, colorful, and ever-blossoming landscapes of the Ukrainian imagination. Embroidered Worlds presents a bold glimpse into fantastic storytelling throughout Ukrainian culture, from science fiction, fantasy, and horror to slipstream, fairy tales, and more.

This collection gathers 30 short stories from writers living in wartime Ukraine, their work translated into English for the very first time, as well as from international authors of Ukrainian heritage. Come, now, and experience the magic, the terror, and the wonder-filled surprises of the worlds they’ve brought to life.

“Bold and brave, its stories are a testament to the role of storytelling and remembering in Ukrainian culture. More so, Embroidered Worlds is a reminder to the world that Ukrainians do, and always will, exist.”—Nicole Yurcaba, Chytomo

Authors/Translators/Artists: A.D.Sui, Alla Perminova, Anatoly Belilovsky, Askold Melnyczuk, Bogi Takács, Clarie Haffner, David Demchuk, Elizabeth Bear, Éva Berniczky, Gari Light, Halyna Lipatova, Hanna Leliv, Ihor Silivra, Iryna Pasko, Károj D. Balla, Kateryna Darchyk, Konstantin Boulich, Max Kidruk, Michael Naydan, Mykhailo Nazarenko, Myroslava Hornostayeva, N. R. M. Roshak, Oksana Katsanivska, Oleh Silin, Oleksiy Gedeonov, Olena Krasnoselska, Oleskiy Zhupansky, Ostap Ukrainets, R.B. Lemberg, Stefan O. Rak, Svetlana Lavochkina, Svitlana Taratorina, Taras Kopansky, Tatyana Adamenko, Tetiana Savchynska, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Vasyl Dukhnovskyi, Vira Balatska, Volodymyr Arenev, Yaryna Katorozh, Yuriy Vynnychuk.

Mothersound:The Sauútiverse Anthology, edited by Wole Talabi, published by Android Press

This anthology presents the first set of stories written in a The Sauútiverse, a fictional shared world based on a blend of African cultural worldviews. Edited by Locus award nominated editor Wole Talabi with contributions from around the African continent and diaspora, Mothersound is filled with wonder, mystery, and magic.

“The Sauútiverse project...aims to rival other popular science-fantasy properties, such as George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards universe, with a grounding in African culture and a depth of imagination...this feels like the start of something monumental.”—Publishers Weekly

Authors/Artists: Eugen Bacon, Tobias S. Buckell, Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki, Stephen Embleton, Dare Segun Falowo, Fabrice Guerrier, T.L. Huchu, Somto Ihezue, Adelehin Ijasan, Akintoba Kalejaye, Cheryl S. Ntumy, Eye Kay Nwaogu, Xan Van Rooyen, Wole Talabi, J. Umeh.

We are a family-run small independent publisher out of Detroit, Michigan. Our core publishing values are authenticity, thoughtfulness, and community, described in more detail on our website, and our primary hope of kindness, to ourselves and each other.

We stand with our values:

Black Lives Matter
Black Trans Lives Matter
Protect Trans People
Anti-racism. Anti-colonialism. Anti-transphobia. Anti-ableism.
Body Autonomy is Essential
Support Libraries
Слава Україні
فلسطين حرة
Be Kind to Yourself and Each Other

We honor and are mindful of our presence on the lands of the Three Fires Confederacy and Black Detroit.

Thank you so much to everyone who's pre-ordered these books already. You literally keep the lights on for us. Endless thanks to Atthis Arts, an indie press working tirelessly to fight the good fight. Ihor Mysiak dedicated his book to a friend killed in the Russia-Ukraine war. He was then killed as well... This is the only novel he ever got to write. Our time here is finite and precious. May we use it well. —Cheryl S. Ntumy, author of Songs for the Shadows

This publisher always does such good and important work, you will not regret supporting these books. —Jennifer Lee Rossman, author of Blue Incarnations

The novel The Factory was published in the time of full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine; back then many Ukrainians left their homes in search of a safe place, their shelter from the war. And Ihor's novel also wandered around the world, together with Ukrainians. My husband's friends sent him photos of his book from different parts of the world, and Ihor was happy that The Factory saw the light of day and visited countries where we had not yet been. Today, this novel was published in English, which means that more people will read it and it will also travel, as my husband Ihor and I loved to do. Ihor would be very happy with this news. It was his little dream that came true. Memory lives longer on paper. Ihor lives in his texts and in our hearts. Thank you for reading this novel about life. —Maryna Mysiak, wife of the late poet, Ihor Mysiak

Vivid, immersive and otherworldly. Songs for the Shadows takes us on a journey into the depths of shifting sound and reality, and connecting with that which can both destroy and heal us. Time shaped by sound, sound out of time, this is a novella that builds to an emotional crescendo. —Stephen Embleton, 2024 Best Novella Nommo Award Winner 

Campaign shared out by: Devan Barlow author of An Uncommon Curse, Jen Donohue author of Exit Ghost, Jennifer Crispin editor at Dancing Star Press, Joyce Chng Hugo Winner and author of Fire Heart, Minerva Cerridwen author of The Dragon of Ynys, Paul Weimer Multiple Hugo Winner, Richard Lee Byers author of Forgotten Realms novels, Speculative Insight Journal, Ty Schalter professional writer and talker, Zig Zag Claybourne author of The Khumalo Trilogy.

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