written by Alya Somar
December 10, 2025
On Nov. 13, 2025, in Toronto, Grenadian Canadian author and editor Terese Mason Pierre launched her new anthology, As the Earth Dreams: Black Canadian Speculative Stories, at the Harlem event venue.
Pierre’s accomplishments in Canadian literature are well established. Her work has appeared in The Walrus, Room, Brick and other literary magazines. Named one of the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Rising Stars, she was also one of 10 writers to win the 2023 Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. She is currently an editor at Augur Magazine, a Canadian journal of speculative literature.
Published by Toronto-based House of Anansi Press, the collection showcases how Black imaginations are shaping the future of art through speculative writing. Speculative fiction is a subgenre that incorporates supernatural or futuristic elements, including imagined worlds, mythological figures, and characters with extraordinary abilities. By challenging the boundaries of traditional fiction, speculative work provides readers with new ways to understand the world. Pierre’s anthology “uplifts the spectacular imaginings, reveries, reflections, experiments, and hopes of Black writers in Canada,” amplifying voices that have been historically marginalized. The contributors have collectively published numerous novels, novellas and poetry collections, and have earned notable literary awards across Canada. The anthology stands as a testament to the excellence of Black writers within the country’s contemporary literary scene.
[Additional Read: BOOK REVIEW: THE LAST LAST BY WENDY J. WHITTINGHAM]
The launch event featured Afro-Caribbean dishes from Harlem and specialty cocktails inspired by the book. Local bookstore Another Story Bookshop handled book sales at an on-site table. The venue quickly filled to standing room only as the readings began. Contributors Zalika Reid-Benta, Chinelo Onwuala, Trynne Delaney, and Pierre each read from their stories. A book signing followed, accompanied by music from DJ Myles.
This year, Pierre released two books with House of Anansi Press. In April 2025, she published her debut poetry collection Myth, which the publisher describes as a work that “unearths the unsettling: our jaded and joyful relationships to land, ancestry, trauma, self and future.” Myth was named to CBC’s list of the Best Canadian Poetry Books of 2025.
Pierre’s dedication to her craft is evident in both her literary achievements and her commitment to nurturing literary communities across Canada. With two releases this year, readers are eager to see what she will create next as she continues to champion and expand Black literature in Canada and beyond.
