"A collection that focuses on the pursuit of identity and cultural memory." -Kirkus Reviews

"Margaret Elysia Garcia's writing is enthralling, introspective and honest. In Chicana Noir and Other Stories, she elevates commonplace people and events and infuses them with metaphoric and, at times, horrific meaning. She peels back the facade of the ordinary to reveal an underside of frustrated desires, hidden motivations and unfulfilled dreams. Garcia is an original literary voice whose writing is top notch!"

-Jesús Salvador Treviño, author of The Fabulous Sinkhole and Other Stories, The Skyscraper That Flew and Other Stories and American Book Award-winning Return to Arroyo Grande

Contributor Bio:Garcia, Margaret Elysia
Macondo fellow Margaret Elysia Garcia is the author of the poetry collection the daughterland (El Martillo Press, 2023), the short story collections Chicana Noir and Other Stories (El Martillo Press, 2026) and Graft (Tolsun Books, 2022), and the poetry chapbooks Your House is on Fire (Daxson Publishing, 2026), Iconistas!, and Burn Scars, (Lit Kit Collective, 2025, 2022). She's the co-editor of the Golden Poppy Award finalist in non-fiction anthology Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California's Fire Country (AK Press, 2025). She's the winner of the James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award from Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

Contributor Bio:Romero, David A
David A. Romero is a Mexican-American poet, novelist, and publisher from Diamond Bar, CA. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of El Martillo Press. Romero is the author of the novel The Enemy Sleeps (El Martillo Press, 2026) and the books of poetry My Name Is Romero (FlowerSong Press, 2020) and Diamond Bars 2 (Moon Tide Press, 2024). Romero has received honorariums from nearly a hundred colleges and universities in thirty-four different states in the USA and has also performed live in Mexico, Italy, and France. His poem, "You Were Born a Tree" was sent to the Moon by NASA in 2025 as part of the Lunar Codex. Romero's work has been published in literary magazines and anthologies in the United States, Mexico, England, Scotland, Cuba, Canada, and Hungary. Romero has opened for Latin Grammy winning bands Ozomatli and La Santa Cecilia. Romero's work has been published in anthologies alongside poets laureate Joy Harjo, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Luis J. Rodriguez, Jack Hirschman, and Tongo Eisen-Martin. Romero has won the Uptown Slam at the historic Green Mill in Chicago; the birthplace of slam poetry. Romero's poetry deals with family, identity, social justice issues, and Latine culture.