CYBER MAGE SAAD Z. HOSSAIN

Publication date: December 07, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-951213-28-2

Dimensions: 5.5x8.5

Pages: 344

Paperback $18.00

World Rights (ex. India, Bangladesh): Unnamed Press

Welcome to Dhaka, Bangladesh in 2089.

A city notorious for its extreme population density has found an unexpected way to not just survive a global climate apocalypse, but thrive: pump enough biological nanotech into the neighborhood and all of the bodies together form a self-sustaining, and even temperate, microclimate. Of course, this means that millions of humans have to stay put in order to maintain a livable temperature, and people are getting restless. All of the nanotech has also led to some surprises: certain people no longer need food or water while others can live without functioning organs.

So the mercenary Djibrel has to carry a machete wherever he goes. Only a swift beheading can ensure the job gets done anymore. Djibrel navigates the crowded streets, humans teeming with genetic mutations, looking for answers about what happened to the Djinn, a magical super race of genies who seem to have disappeared, or merged, with humans for survival. What Djibrel doesn’t know is that his every move is being tracked by the infamous Cyber Mage—better known to his parents as Murzak, a privileged snarky teenager who regularly works for a Russian crime syndicate with a band of elite hackers, like his best friend ReGi, who resides in North Africa’s FEZ (Free Economic Zone). Respected and feared online, Murzak is about to embark on one of his biggest challenges: attending high school IRL. But when he discovers a brand new type of AI, operating on a dark web from the abandoned Kingdom of Bahrain that he thought was just an urban myth, Murzak and Djibrel will have to face the unimaginable in an already inconceivable world.

In this laugh-out-loud-funny and totally original new novel, Saad Z. Hossain continues his signature genre mashup of SF and fantasy, challenging and subverting everything previously imagined about our future and climate change. A scathing critique of corporate greed, Hossain shows us how to think beyond the naïve ideas of preening moguls like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

Praise for Cyber Mage

“Hossain’s novel can certainly be read as a cautionary tale about climate change, but the energy that powers this story will remind many readers of a twisted version of Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One.” —Library Journal, Starred Review

“Hossain deftly weaves together multiple plotlines—involving free-willed, intuitive-thinking AIs, djinns working code, shenanigans aboard the International Space Station (which was sold by NASA to Amazon, by the way)... stitching them into a singularly fine fabric of a novel, with an action-packed climax worthy of a Hollywood summer blockbuster (and that’s a compliment!). Cyber Mage hits the sweet spot of being engaging and making you laugh and think in equal measure. If genre-bending novels are your cup of tea, then take a sip from this book. You will not stop till the cup is empty, leaving you wanting more.”

Locus Magazine

“Hossain’s giddy new novel, another inventive blend of mythology and cyberpunk gizmology... puts a clever spin on both high fantasy and hard science tropes as ancient djinns wield futuristic technology to go head-to-head with humans empowered with their own technowizardry. Fans of both genres will find this an enjoyable romp.”

Publishers Weekly

“Fans of the Shadowrun series and similar gritty future worlds will appreciate this blend of cyber-dystopia and magical beings... Teens who enjoy cyberpunk like Warcross and Ready Player One should try this one.” —Booklist

“A Bangladeshi teenager battles foes both magical and technological in the late 21st century in this unpredictable exploration of an expansive future world.” —Kirkus

Saad Z. Hossain writes in a niche genre of fantasy, science fiction and black comedy with an action-adventure twist. He is the author of Escape from Baghdad! and Djinn City . He was published in the anthologies The Apex Book of World SF: Volume 4 and The Djinn Falls in Love and Other Stories. He lives and works in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

The Confession Of Copeland Cane Keenan Norris

Publication date: June 15, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-951213-25-1

Dimensions: 5.5x8.5

Pages: 320

Hardback $28.00

World English Rights: Unnamed Press

Copeland Cane V, the child who fell outta Colored People Time and into America, is a fugitive…

He is also just a regular teenager coming up in a terrifying world. A slightly eccentric, flip-phone loving kid with analog tendencies and a sideline hustling sneakers, the boundaries of Copeland’s life are demarcated from the jump by urban toxicity, an educational apparatus with confounding intentions, and a police state that has merged with media conglomerates—the highly-rated Insurgency Alert Desk that surveils and harasses his neighborhood in the name of anti-terrorism.

Recruited by the nearby private school even as he and his folks face eviction, Copeland is doing his damnedest to do right by himself, for himself. And yet the forces at play entrap him in a reality that chews up his past and obscures his future. Copeland’s wry awareness of the absurd keeps life passable, as do his friends and their surprising array of survival skills. And yet in the aftermath of a protest rally against police violence, everything changes, and Copeland finds himself caught in the flood of history.

Set in East Oakland, California in a very near future, The Confession of Copeland Cane introduces us to a prescient and startlingly contemporary voice, one that exposes the true dangers of coming of age in America: miseducation, over-medication, radiation, and incarceration.

Praise for The Confession of Copeland Cane

“These dispatches from Planet Oakland totally blew me away. Imagine Thomas Pynchon, Nathaniel West, and Ralph Ellison going into a bar where they decide to write a novel about the gentrification wars in the East Bay. Under the authorial nom de guerre of ‘Keenan Norris,’ they create a picaresque hero named Copeland Cane who battles cops, developers, and rich liberals before vanishing in the chaos of an inevitable small apocalypse. Fantastic.” —Mike Davis, author of Old Gods, New Enigmas

“Keenan Norris’s ear for language is simply genius. This book is praise song, love letter, and requiem for Black and Brown bodies caught up in California’s post-pandemic, private-police ruled near future. A powerfully voiced, page-turning novel and required reading for anyone attempting to understand the struggle for racial justice.” —Nayomi Munaweera, author of What Lies Between Us

“Keenan Norris has a fiercely prophetic voice. His enthralling portrait of Black life in a nearby dystopia forged by right-wing extremists and media elites will make you rage in recognition. A masterfully written coming-of-age story, The Confession of Copeland Cane is a must-read for grasping where the dog whistle politics and hatemongering tactics of living public figures could lead us---and the collective fire it will take to forge a better future.” —Jean Guerrero, author of Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump and the White Nationalist Agenda and Crux: A Cross-Border Memoir

“The Confession of Copeland Cane’s potent cocktail of lyrical dexterity, societal critique, and fascinating characters brings to mind Ishmael Reed’s classic Mumbo Jumbo. With this engaging novel, Keenan Norris announces himself as a voice for a generation living through an age of normalized absurdity. Norris’s voice is necessary and vital—and a call to take heed.” —Dr.

Michael Datcher

“To Read Confessions of Copeland Cane is to be enthralled by Keenan Norris’ ability to seamlessly inhabit disparate voices while enveloping the reader in the brutality of a corrupt system driven by senseless racism. Norris possesses a singular talent.” —Jervey Tervalon, author of All the Trouble You Need and Dead Above Ground

“Norris has created a voice that cannot be ignored.” Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Readers will appreciate the provocative story and Norris’ trenchant insights into the corruption of the press and government and the many ways African Americans and other minorities bear the brunt of racial injustice in America.” —Booklist

“A significant new voice in fiction, Norris has written what may be one of the defining novels of the era at the intersection between Black Lives Matter and COVID-19.” —Wendy Jean Fox, BuzzFeed Books

“The oppression Norris is describing looks a lot like the afflictions of our present, a recognition that is bracing. But when the burden to enlighten, to make things right, is placed on Cope—a kid bearing the weight of failures that are vast and collective—his response becomes engrossing... This is not to say there is no joy or love here. Throughout the novel, there is a lot—for East Oakland, for his parents, for his friends, and for the slain.” —Oscar Villalon, ALTA Journal

Keenan Norris is a novelist, essayist and short story writer. His latest novel, The Confession of Copeland Cane, won the 2022 Northern California Book Award for Fiction. Keenan was a 2017 Marin Headlands Artist-in-Residence and has garnered a Public Voices fellowship (2020), a Callaloo fellowship (2016) and two Yerba Buena Center for the Arts fellowships (2017, 2015). He serves as a guest editor for the Oxford African-American Studies Center. He is the editor of the seminal Street Lit literary criticism anthology. Keenan’s short work has appeared in numerous forums, including the Los Angeles Review of Books, Los Angeles Times, LitHub, Alta, Remezcla, popmatters. com and several anthologies of California literature. He teaches at San Jose State University.

CONVERGENCE : TECHNOLOGY, BUSINESS, AND THE HUMAN-CENTRIC FUTURE DEBORAH WESTPHAL

Publication date: May 11, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-951213-24-4

Dimensions: 5x8

Pages: 224

Hardback $26.00

World Rights: Unnamed Press

What does it mean to be human-centric? The Convergence is here. Each day the human race becomes more connected and interdependent.

There is no longer a choice in the matter. There is no turning back. All aspects of human life are rapidly converging at an intersection of people, business, and environment. With potential for either a historic integration or catastrophic collision, leaders have two clear choices: remain committed to profits above all else; or shift to a human-centric approach that embraces this convergence.

Author Deborah Westphal, a leader in future-focused strategy, leverages her experiences working with some of the world’s most innovative business leaders, to show how the interests of people (as human beings, not customers), overlap with those of companies in ways never before seen. Convergence charts the path forward for those leaders— particularly in business—who seek to shift to a human-centric mental model. This approach addresses realities from our converging world not necessarily related to a company’s business operations, often integrat- ing a tangible response with a change in the company’s core values. Simply put, to be human-centric prioritizes the success of people and redefines success for a company.

Praise for Convergence: Technology, Business, and the Human-Centric Future

“In today’s world, there is no shortage of business books about technology, machine learning and what the future will look like. Convergence is a book that adds a much-needed human element to our collective understanding and vision for the future. Through her observations and stories, Westphal provokes us to think and to challenge our assumptions. There is no greater thinker than Westphal and she brings her exceptional clarity, insights about human behavior, and experience to this entire book. This is an essential read for anyone who cares about the future and our place in the world of business.” —

Elizabeth Ross, Chief Marketing Officer at Bright Health

“Convergence will challenge your thinking about leading in today’s global environment. Westphal provides a compelling perspective for entrepreneurs in every sector to consider as they create tomorrow’s growth engines. This is a timely message about positioning your organization for the future.”

—Steve Case, Co-Founder of AOL and Chairman & CEO of Revolution

“When automation replaces humans, how should managers leverage the unique gifts that people bring to the workplace? As technological currents swirl and eddy with the currents of human endeavor, the convergence of competencies creates new opportunities. The successful enterprise of the future will understand how to navigate these swirls and eddies. Deborah Westphal brings a lifetime of experience to exploring the components of this convergence, using compelling anecdotes and allegories to identify and expound upon the components of convergence. A must-read for future-looking enterprises, Convergence will advance how you think about the future work environment and how to thrive in that environment.” —

Dr. Julie J.C.H. Ryan, CEO, Wyndrose Technical Group

“Deborah Westphal uses her own journey to show us how the business environment has evolved and more importantly, what it can become if—I say, if—we stop for just a minute and think about the power of the human system; the system that is one of a kind and always changing.”

Loretta Penn, President, PECC LLC

“Expansive, intriguing, and deeply human, Convergence continues the Toffler legacy. Westphal connects seemingly disparate facts to examine the vast opportunities and immense challenges facing a changing society. She offers her readers perspective and a path to create their future.”

George Anderson, Partner and Leader of Board Effectiveness Services, Spencer Stuart

“Convergence is a must-read for today’s organizations and businesses. Deb Westphal brings her breadth of experiences and knowledge to remind us of the need for human-centric leadership of all organiza- tions in these dynamic times. She provides a perspective for ensuring humans are at the center of the convergence of technological, societal, and organizational changes facing businesses. Alvin and Heidi Toffler would be extremely proud of her insights for the future.” —General (retired) Lester Lyles, Independent Consultant, former Vice Chief of Staff , U.S. Air Force

“In Westphal’s debut book, she lays out clear links between humancentered policy, the proliferation of advancing technologies, and their impacts on society. [Westphal] delivers a compelling analysis of how these trends are transforming business and a pragmatic assessment of what it all means for the world economy. Convergence is an extremely useful book that any business leader, policymaker, or ordinary citizen will find useful.” —Maury W. Bradsher, Chairman & CEO, District Equity

“Deborah Westphal’s clear ethical compass extends the visionary work of Alvin and Heidi Toffler into this 21st century. I trust that financiers and business executives heed her wise advice.” —Hazel Henderson, CEO, Ethical Markets Media and author of The Politics of the Solar Age

“Deb helps us understand some critical aspects of the world we live in, where we started, and where we are headed. Her insights about the convergence of technology, business, and the future are everything we all must know to create a human-centric tomorrow.” —Ian

Khan, CEO & Founder, Futuracy

“Too many organizations are being destroyed by complexity, held back by mountains of data and legacy processes. While often with the best of intentions, it may be that our focus is wrong: if budgets are statements of our values, we must invest more in our teams and cultures—empowering them to challenge old systems and reinvent how we work. By shifting our norms to invite change and to kill outdated ways of thinking, we will be better positioned to look externally and create a better future, faster.” —Lisa

Bodell, CEO FutureThink

“Deborah Westphal shines a new light on how vital human connections are to the convergence of society’s tectonic shifts. This book brings a fresh perspective to understanding the impact trust serves as the bedrock to our globally infused human-centric endeavor. A must read for serious leaders seeking to build sustainable business roadmaps to the future.” —Dr.

Marsha Ershaghi Hames, Partner, Tapestry Network

Deborah Westphal’s career spans more than 30 years, government agencies and Fortune 100 companies, and virtually every continent. A passionate humanist and life-long learner, she has dedicated her work to guiding our era’s top minds and leaders to see and pursue the future with a sense of realistic caution and optimism.

In 1999, Alvin Toffler tapped her as one of the founding members of his eponymous consulting firm. Since that time, she has guided leaders across the globe to challenge biases, ignite ideas, and build connections and resilience for a secure and sound future. The list of organizations she has supported includes Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Marriott, U.S. Air Force, Baxter International, Bayer, Heinz, Microsoft, Koppers, PPG, DARPA, National Security Agency (NSA), Loral Space Systems, NASA, Qwest, Verizon, and Westinghouse.

Deborah is an active speaker who has presented perspectives on human-centric leading to numerous organizations. She has authored hundreds of short-form essays and blogs, numerous talks, and the Foreword for After Shock, a collection of future-focused essays.