Books

Bibliobiography

(Last Updated March 21, 2023)

Sumiko Saulson (they/them or ze/hir) is an award-winning author of Afrosurrealist and multicultural sci-fi and horror whose latest novel Happiness and Other Diseases is available on Mocha Memoirs Press.

Winner of the Carry the Light Foundation 2nd Place Sci-Fi Short Story Award (2016), HWA Scholarship from Hell (2016) BCC Voice “Reframing the Other” contest (2017), Mixy Award (2017), 6th Place HorrorAddicts Next Great Horror Writer Contest (2017) Afrosurrealist Writer Award (2018), Ara Jo Memorial Zinemaker’s Grant (2018), HWA Diversity Grant (2020), Official Selection LA Blood and Boobs Festival (2020), Ladies of Horror Fiction Grant (2021), the HWA Richard Layman Award for Service (2021), Ladies of Horror Fiction Readers Choice Award for Within Me WIthout Me (2021). Bram Stoker Nomination in the Superior Achievement in a Poetry category for The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry (2022).

Sumiko has an AA in English from Berkeley City College, writes a column called “Writing While Black” for a national Black Newspaper, the San Francisco BayView is the host of the SOMA Leather and LGBT Cultural District’s “Erotic Storytelling Hour,” and teaches courses at the Speculative Fiction Academy.

Sumiko is a cartoonist, science-fiction, fantasy, and horror author and poet, editor of Black Magic Women, Scry of Lust and 100 Black Women in Horror Fiction, author of Solitude, Warmth, The Moon Cried Blood, Happiness and Other Diseases, Somnalia, Insatiable, Ashes and Coffee, and Things That Go Bump In My Head. They wrote and illustrated comics Mauskaveli, Dooky, and graphic novels Dreamworlds and Agrippa. They write for the SEARCH Magazine and the San Francisco Bayview column Writing While Black. The child of African American and Russian-Jewish parents, a native Californian and an Oakland resident who’s spent most of their adult life in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Novels

Happiness and Other Diseases: The Metamorphoses of Flynn Keahi (Mocha Memoirs Press)

Flynn Keahi has had a rough year. His nightmares are starting to manifest in reality, but no one believes him. Terrifying creatures are trying to cross out of dreams into the physical realm. Only Flynn can stop them – but doing so might cost him his life. Complicating matters further, one of these creatures cannot help wanting him — in every forbidden way. Will she be able to save him from his fate? Can she even protect him from herself?

Happiness and Other Diseases is a dark fantasy based in Greco-Roman mythology, the Demos Oneiroi, world of dreams, and the children and grandchildren of Somnus, god of sleep.

Paperback $15.00

eBook(Kindle) – $4.99 eBook (Nook)

Warmth

“I hate the dead. They have no self-control” – Sera.

She is ghula – one of the extremely long-lived though not immortal flesh eaters whose lives can end in only one way – in resurrection as a hungry, ambulatory corpse who will spend the short days of its unlife rotting, eating, and infecting as many as possible. Sera compares her life to a dark comedy – trapped with an unwanted pregnancy for the past 600 years, constantly afraid that the fetus will die and go zombie in-utero, always cold and constantly running a fever like every other ghoul on the planet. Luckily, two things in life sustain her: her joy in hunting and destroying the Dead, and the constant seeking of comfort in warmth.

Solitude

To what extent does the presence of others affects our thoughts and actions? What do we believe when we are truly alone?

Solitude is the riveting tale of diverse individuals isolated in a San Francisco seemingly void of all other human life. In the absence of others, each will journey into personal web of beliefs and perceptions as they try to determine what happened to them, and the world around them. Each of them views events differently. Soon, threats both natural and supernatural leave them too busy fighting to survive in a world of strange and unpredictable events where all of the luxuries of civilization are being slowly eroded to even stop to wonder. And unless they can find each other, they will have to face it all alone, in the dark.

Hardcover – $33.00

Paperback – $17.50

eBook (Kindle) – $2.99 eBook (Nook) – $2.99 eBook (iTunes)

Hardcover – $25.00

Paperback (Standard) – $9.99 Paperback (Premium) $14.99

eBook (Kindle) – $2.99 eBook

Collections

The Rat King: A Book of Dark Poetry (2022) (Dooky Zines)

Bram-Stoker Nominated (2022) for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

Freely mixing light-hearted horror about zombies and vampires with more serious topics such as homelessness, mental health, racism, death, and polyamory, each poem in this anthology will confront you with the very things society prefers to ignore. Always grounded in speculative fiction, they nonetheless remark upon our real world with a comfortable and revealing familiarity

“Packed with powerful social commentary, pain, and love, Sumiko Saulson highlights the darkness found in every corner of our everyday world with haunting prose and metaphor.” — Ronald J. Murray, Elgin Award-nominated author of Cries to Kill the Corpse Flower

“In The Rat King, Sumiko Saulson sings the song of the sufferer who has transcended deep hurts through a vibrant estimation of their own beautiful humanity. The poems in the Rat King explore the dysfunction, hope, and grace of our collective dark heart and leaves you feeling one lingering emotion at the end: Compassion.” —Jamal Hodge, Award-winning filmmaker and 2x Rhysling nominated poet

Pick up a copy at Dooky Zines! https://dookyzines.com/2022/06/09/the-rat-king/

Within Me, Without Me: A Book of Dark Prose and Poetry (2021) (Dooky Zines)

Winner of the 2021 Ladies in Horror Fiction Reader’s Choice Award

Dark poetry and prose written at the intersection of Blackness, Queerness, and Neurodivergence, where magic is mistaken for madness, organic hosts willingly bind themselves with artificial intelligence, and instruments designed for music are enchanted for revenge. Ghost ships embark on twisted, versical affairs with krakens. Phantom husbands believe “til death do us part” must be mutual. Keenly aware that we are worlds within ourselves as well as fractal instances of the world as a whole, these words ~ written predominantly during the first two years of the global pandemic ~ unite revolution, multiplicity.and a soul-searing sense of melancholia.

“Sumiko Saulson’s latest poetry collection, The Rat King (DookyZines.com) mixes formalist, New Weird verse with their Afrosurrealist roots and a lyrical but often brutal focus on social commentary. You can see their power of words in poems such as Regarding Nina Simone’s Bad Reputation, reflecting on their mother’s struggles with mental disabilities and being a BIPOC woman. With poems like The Rat King, they explore the literal horror of homelessness and death. Other excellent and moving poems include A Travesty in Timbuktu, I Feel Some Kind of Way, I Am Not Your Trope and Black and Queer aren’t Trends which are strong poetical manifestos focusing on their self-described being “of Black, and Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, queer, and disabled.” There is beauty, both rough and elegant, and brutality in the narratives of their verse. Sumiko Saulson is emerging as a strong voice in the field of dark poetry and The Rat King is a solid addition to their growing body of work.

— David E. Cowen, Bram Stoker Award Nominated Author of Bleeding Saffron and other collections

Pick up a copy at Dooky Zines! https://dookyzines.com/2021/09/23/within-me-without-me/

Spit and Pathos (2018)

The Void Between Emotions (2017)

Things That Go Bump in My Head (2013)

“Things That Go Bump In My Head” is a collection of short stories and other writing by horror and science fiction novelist Sumiko Saulson. A bit of old fashioned horror… a ghost story… a couple of works on the dark humor side of horror (and they are unabashedly funny), a science-fiction dystopic tale, a few works of psychological horror… even a bit of poetry. Because it is a collection of these pithy and varied tales… there is a bit for everyone: Reading “Things That Go Bump In My Head” is like entering a haunted house ride… you never know what you will find around the corner.

Hardcover – $28.50

Paperback – $10.00

eBook (Kindle) – $1.99 eBook (Nook) – $1.99 eBook (iTunes)

Novellas/Novelettes

DEATH’S CAFE: ASHES & COFFEE

Death is stalking Berkeley, California in a sleek new jacket and snazzy checkered fedora. Insects and animals collapse in his wake. When the indigent begin to mysteriously die in the streets, the rest of the town is indifferent. Red Montgomery, a nineteen year old black homeless woman, is the only one who can see him. She feels powerless to intervene. But is she?

(Young Adult Fiction)

THE MOON CRIED BLOOD SERIES (FULL SERIES HERE)

BOOK ONE: LEGEND OF THE LUNA

It is said that the Wolf may howl at the Moon, but the Moon never howls at the Wolf. In the gritty urban streets of Los Angeles in 1975, Leticia Gordon is forced to come to terms with many things: the tragic death of her stepmother and baby sister in a car accident, fear she’ll wind up in foster care, and the sudden revelation she belongs to a long line of powerful witches known as Luna – who exhibit first power upon reaching womanhood. Running from foes natural and supernatural, will her newfound powers be the turning point that elevates her position of honor, or will it destroy her like the dark forces that consumed her father? In a world turned upside down where time itself seems in flux, in whom can she trust?

The first book in this eight book series is Legend of the Luna

Hardcover – $15.00

Paperback – $5.50

eBook (Kindle) – $0.99 eBook (Nook) – $0.99 eBook (iTunes) $0.99

Short Stories

HUNGRY MINDS

“Hungry Minds” is a very short autobiographical tale (12 pages) about bullying, reading, and what lies in the heart of a writer: especially a very young one. In the brief essay, the writer discusses awkward and painful experiences related to entering Junior High School. It is written from the perspective of a literate seventh grader and is appropriate for younger readers

eBook (Nook) – FREE eBook (iTunes) – FREE

Non-Fiction

60 BLACK WOMEN IN HORROR

It consists of an alphabetical listing of the women with biographies, photos, and web addresses, as well as interviews with several of these women. The eBook version features bonus stories by some writers.

The material in this book was originally published on http://www.SumikoSaulson.com.

February is African American History Month here in the United States. It is also Women in Horror Month (WiHM). This list of black women who write horror was compiled at the intersection of the two. See more information HERE

Paperback – $5.50

eBook (Kindle) – 99 cents eBook (Nook) – FREE eBook (iTunes) – FREE

Graphic Novels/Comics/Zines

See more information HERE

AGRIPPA

“Agrippa” is a dystopic near-future tale that takes place in an unnamed industrialized nation very much like the United States. When foreign creditors demand that the nation repay its considerable international debt or face war it enacts the Dulcetta Reforms, ultra-restrictive laws establishing debtor’s prison, and causing a large number of people – many of them seniors – to go to jail or even face execution if not continuously working to pay off their personal debts to the government. Dr. Tine, an expert in geriatric medicine, is desperately searching for employment at the beginning of our tale, having lost her useful functioning in society as the elders she once treated were rounded up and hauled off to the prison camps. Things were so bad she didn’t think they could possibly get any worse. How very wrong she was.

Color – $10.00 Black and White – $5.00 eBook – $2.00

LIVING A LIE

by Carolyn Saulson (author) andSumiko Saulson (Illustrator)

Lately, he’d been going by the name Randolph James, of course this wasn’t his real name, but he made it work. Looking into the full-length mirror in his bedroom, he forced his body to stand erect, checked his stance, and prepared to be Mr. Randolph James one more time.

“Living a Lie” is a serialized near-future science fiction story about a man born to a mentally ill, homeless mother who has hidden his true identity and background during his quest for upward mobility. The lie he’s been living threatens to unravel when he begins to discover that his mother’s symptoms were not signs of the onset of schizophrenia… but of the onset of superhuman powers, powers that seem to be hereditary.

– $5.00 eBook $0.99

Collections/Anthologies/Magazines

2023 – “The Denounment of Freeze Dried Coffee” short story in We’re Here: An Anthology of LGBT Horror

2023 – “The Ballad of Faerie Garcia,” short story, In Trouble (Omnium Gatherum) edited by EF Schraeder and Elaine Schleiffer

2023 – “A Confusion of the Gods,” short story, Blackened Roots edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz and Tonia Ransom

2022 – “Dwayne’s Baby Daddy,” short story, Blerdrotica 2: Couple’s Therapy edited Penelope Flynn

2022 – “Centered and Seen,” essay, Came From The Closet (Feminist Press) edited by Joe Vallese

2022 – “Wolf and Girl,” featured artist, The Horror Zine Magazine: Fall 2022 13th Anniversary Edition, edited by Jeani Rector

2022 – “Generations of the Imaginarium,” poem, Of Horror and Hope: Mental Health Reflections by Members, edited by the HWA Wellness Committee

2021 – “On Darkest Night of Faerie Bright,” Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase VIII, edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich

2021 – “With December Comes Elune,” poem. Infections Hope: Poems of Hope and Resilience from the Pandemic, edited by Silvia Canton Rondoni

2020 – “Shades of Domesticity” Horror Writers Association Poetry Showcase VII edited by Stephanie M. Wytovich

2020 – “The Kraken,” poem, Siren’s Call Magazine Summer 2020

2020 – “Under the Water,” poem, Siren’s Call Magazine Summer 2020

2020 – “From SideKick to Romantic Lead: Rise of the Strong Black Woman” essay, Fourth Wave Feminism in Science Fiction and Fantasy edited by Valerie Estelle Frankel

2020 – “Tapestry of Sentiment and Sunset” short story, Wickedly Abled: Sci-Fi. Horror and Dark Fantasy by Disabled Authors (Iconoclast Productions) edited by Sumiko Saulson and Emily Flummox

2020 – “Asi’s Horror and Delight,” short story, Slay: Tales of the Vampire Noir (Mocha Memoirs) edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz

2019 – ” In Technicolor: A Roundtable on the Future of Diversity in Speculative Fiction,” interview, Strange Horizons 23, Interviewees: Linda D. Addison, Crystal Connor, Rain Graves, Eileen Gunn, Greg Herren, Maria Nieto and Nisi Shawl, Interviewers: Sumiko Saulson and Tristissima, edited by Vanessa Rose Phin

2019 – “Unheard Music from the Dank Underground,” Tales for the Camp Fire: A Charity Anthology Benefitting Wildfire Relief (Tomes & Coffee Press) edited by Loren Rhoads

2019 – The Mysterious State of We-Ness from “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”

2019 – “The Distance from We-Ness to I-Ness” From “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”

2018 – “My Life As A Young Urban Fiction Writer,” memoir, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 7

2018 – “Tango of a Telltale Heart,” short story, Black Magic Women: Terrifying Tales by Scary Sisters (Mocha Memoirs Press) edited by Sumiko Saulson

2018 – “The Symbiont Revolution” From “Scierogenous II: An Anthology of Erotic Science Fiction and Fantasy”

2018 – “A Balm of Brackish Water” Afrosurrealist Writers Workshop/ProArts Dedication

2018 – “The Ride of Herne and Hespeth,” Siren’s Call Magazine, February 2018

2016 “Character Flaws,” flash fiction, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 5 edited by Lisa Meltzer Penn and Bardi Rosman Koodrin

2016 “Agrippa,” short story, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 5 edited by Lisa Meltzer Penn and Bardi Rosman Koodrin

2016 “Dead Horse Summer,” memoir, Carry the Light: Winning Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, Vol 5 edited by Lisa Meltzer Penn and Bardi Rosman Koodrin

2016, “Enclosures,” short story, Tales from the Lake, Vol. 3 (Crystal Lake Publishing), Monique Snyman

2017 – “Clockwork Valentine Clockwork Wonderland, Horror Addicts

2017 – “The Honeymoon Suite: Jacob’s Reunion,” short story, Forever Vacancy: A Colors in Darkness anthology (Colors in Darkness) edited by Mya Lairis, Kenya Moss-Dyme, and Eden Royce

2015 – “HorrorAddicts Guide to Cats,” essay, HorrorAddicts Guide to Life (HorrorAddicts), edited by David Watson

2015 – “Sweetness.” short story, Babes and Beasts: Tales of Lusty Shifters (Bloody Kisses Press) edited by Cinsearae S.

2014 – “Ashes and Coffee,” short story, Death’s Cafe (Mocha Memoirs) edited by Eden Royce

2013 – “The Birthday Present,” short story, Wicked Women Writers (HorrorAddicts.net)

Where To Buy

At Fantastic Comics in Berkeley with Agrippa

Buy Locally

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can buy my books locally in San Francisco, Oakland and Benicia. Here is a list of stores where you can Buy Locally:

https://sumikosaulson.com/buy-local/

At Barnes and Noble

Most of my books are available for the Nook and as paperbacks through Barnes and Noble online. The paperbacks can also be ordered in stores.

On Amazon

All of my books are available on Amazon.com as paperbacks and/or for the Kindle reader. Here is the link to my Amazon Author’s Page:

On Lulu

Most of my books are available in hardcover, and as large-format paper backs through Lulu.

On iTunes

Most of my eBooks are available for the iPod, iPhone and other Apple products through the Apple iTunes Store

On Kobo

Most of my novels and several short stories are available as eBooks through Kobo

On Smashwords