Every year around March a dirth of prize lists are announced. Prizes are given to authors of every genre published, and furthermore, there are multiple prizes in the same categories awarded by different organizations or individuals that generously keep writers writing. Most awards begin with a long list, then proceed with a short list and ultimately a winner is announced. During this time, what I like to call “debut madness” happens. Debut madness refers to the situation in which new or lesser known authors have published a book or collection and make the long list of a literary prize. This past award season has been inundated with debut authors and award season is a great time to discover new authors which is how I discovered Dahlia de la Cerda. In this issue of Bookisshh I’ll discuss Reservoir Bitches an interconnected collection of voicey short stories of Mexican women ranging from poor dress makers to cartel daughters, influencers and bosses. All women and unbelievably authentic. Enjoy!

Dahlia de la Cerda, author, journalist and activist is unapologetic, sharply witty and gritty as she rips off the curtains on the windows to the lives of her female characters in her short story collection, Reservoir Bitches published by The Feminist Press and translated by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary. Be prepared to feel like you’re a friend or confidante as Del la Cerda forces readers to bear witness to murder, abuse, and gruesome desperate choices forced upon women and (and trans women) trying to live in constraining circumstances in their home country Mexico. Not a moment of these narratives are sugar coated and at times the stories read like long form journalism on women’s lives at the margins as margins seek to widen for women in Mexico and all around Mother Earth. And yet during violent and empty moments Dahlia de la Cerda can make a reader laugh. At various moments in a character’s story I did laugh and cry as a woman, for women, trying to be women, doing women things while wanting to live freely and struggling against patriarchy of all scales and proportion.

Reservoir Bitches characters are like none I’ve ever seen—transgressive and ground breaking. They stare into and spit into the glaring eyes of victimization. They are enlivened emancipated women even if their candle burns out, is taken they dare within darkness and brave as far as they are able to. Some of the stories are epistolary, some are diary entries, and some are straightforward short stories that read like contemporary folklore or legend.

Go ahead and do what I did if you’re shy to buy this book (I can’t buy every book I read and so depend on the library) request it at your library. I requested that my library purchase this book and I got to be the first person to read it once it arrived. Do the same, then tell one woman friend about this book, and tell her to do the same. If you like Reserrvoir Bitches support the Feminist Press and go to their website, find a different book in their catalog and buy one or ask your library to add it to their collection. This is just another way that women can support women and get their stories out or their research continued whatever the case may be.

Enjoy this short little book and may you discover valued other works authored by women published by The Feminist Press.