Raj Tawney, Publicist, McSweeney’s

raj@mcsweeneys.net

McSweeney’s to publish Of the Diaspora series’ first original work, Martha’s Daughter by David Haynes

SAN FRANCISCO, CA –– McSweeney’s is thrilled to announce it will publish Martha’s Daughter by David Haynes––a novella and stories exploring the interconnected lives of a tight-knit black community in Suburban St. Louis––the first original work in its Of the Diaspora series.

Martha’s Daughter gathers stories written over many years, each of them focused on the lives of women (and a few men) navigating the everyday joys, chaos, and minor earthquakes that are a standard feature of living in close knit communities. The novella that lends the collection its title explores the troubled life-long tensions between a mother, who wishes for her daughter all the best that middle class life can provide, and a daughter who wonders if any of that is worth the costs of obtaining it.

The author of seven novels for adults and five books for younger readers, David Haynes is an emeritus professor of English at Southern Methodist University, where he directed the creative writing program for ten years. Since 1996, he has taught regularly in the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. “What an incredible honor it is to have Martha’s Daughter join the distinguished titles in McSweeney’s Of the

Diaspora series,” says Haynes. “I couldn’t be more proud to have my work find a home amidst this impeccable curated collection.

“David Haynes repopulates the all-Black township of Breckenridge Hills, Missouri with the intimacies and heartaches of mother-daughter relationships, the vagaries of caring for loved ones and strangers, and the very human realities of recovery,” says Of the Diaspora series editor Erica Vital-Lazare. The titular novella in the collection, Martha’s Daughter, opens up little-explored tributaries in relations between Black women and their white counterparts—stirring up seemingly still waters as only a writer of such tenderness, humor, and unabashed clarity can.”

“Of the Diaspora is one of the most inspiring bodies of work we’ve published in McSweeney’s 25-year history,” says McSweeney’s publisher and executive director Amanda Uhle. “Elevating these stories and experiences, and celebrating this literature, is core to why we exist. Erica’s editorial choices are flawless and her vision is brilliant. How fortunate we are to be working together to get these books into readers’ hands.”

“It seems only right that a series born of the intent to revisit works in classic Black literature would expand to include new and previously unpublished works by an author whose early novels, Right By My Side, All American Dream Dolls, and The Full Mathilda have earned their place in the Black canon,” Vital-Lazare adds. “As the series grows, we will continue to bring back to print foundational voices such as Marshall, Golden, and Dubois, and to journey ever outward into the global-Black Diaspora, publishing classic works from Africa, Europe, the South Americas, and the Caribbean.”

Martha’s Daughter will be available for purchase at store.mcsweeneys.net and bookstores nationwide in February 2025.

About Of the Diaspora

McSweeney’s Of the Diaspora is a series of previously published works in Black literature whose themes, settings, characterizations, and conflicts evoke an experience, language, imagery, and power born of the Middle Passage and the particular aesthetic which connects African-derived peoples to a shared artistic and ancestral past. The series is edited by writer Erica Vital-Lazare, a professor of creative writing and Marginalized Voices in literature at the College of Southern Nevada.

About McSweeney’s

McSweeney’s is a small San Francisco nonprofit publisher with a worldwide reach. We create elegant books and magazines with an emphasis on bold voices, untold stories, and original art. McSweeney’s publishes an award-winning quarterly literary journal, a daily humor website, beloved children’s magazine Illustoria, The Believer, and an intrepid and varied list of books each year. Visit mcsweeneys.net for more information.