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"Sim Kern is a Gulf Coast author and environmental journalist. Their debut horror novella, Depart, Depart!, was selected for the Honor List for the 2020 Otherwise Award, and their short story collection, Real Sugar is Hard to Find, was hailed in a starred review by Publishers Weekly as, ""a searing, urgent, but still achingly tender work that will wow any reader of speculative fiction."" As a journalist, they report on petrochemical polluters and drag space billionaires. Sim spent ten years teaching English to middle and high schoolers in Houston, Texas, before shifting to writing full-time. They live near Brays Bayou with their spouse, two kids, and a very good dog."
"""A timely tale that feels like it could be ripped from the headlines... a thought-provoking and unflinching story of revolution."" -- Polygon ""Achingly real, bitterly funny, and deeply moving, The Free People's Village is a commentary, both compassionate and cutting, on the woke white activist's journey and, above all, a full-throated ode to resistance and the found family that fuels it."" -- Megan Bell, Southern Bookseller Review ""Sim Kern's masterpiece burns with righteous fury. This book doesn't pull punches -- instead of hopelessness, it sliced straight through frustration, fatalism, and ennui and made me want to fight back."" --Shana Hausman, All She Wrote Books ""A powerful story of justice denied and the legacy of activism as well as a personal journey of growth. For those who wish to learn bravery, solidarity, and community."" --Booklist ""An enthralling novel that highlights social justice issues."" - Foreword Reviews ""Fierce, frenetic, and intensely impassioned."" - Kirkus Publisher's Weekly's Top 10 for Fall '23 ""A thought-provoking, exciting ride. The Free People's Village is a mesmerizing portrait of revolutions -- the internal ones that call us to find and fight for the best versions of ourselves; the external that consume, invigorate, and demand as they explore paths to justice. Grounded in an imaginative landscape and rounded out by an inclusive, complex cast, this novel masterfully explores identity, morality, and the choices we make as vehicles that hold radical power in the quest for liberation. More than a love letter to Houston, its bayous, and people forgotten and remembered, Sim Kern's world sings with possibility, hope, and joy that will leave you laughing --and crying -- long after the last bomb has dropped."" -- Ehigbor Okosun, author of Forged by Blood ""Full of furious kindness, radical community, passionate politics, and authentic friendships, The Free People's Village is a sharply-written paean to hope, set in a vivid, brilliantly imagined future that alternately filled me with loathing and yearning. From the carefully crafted timelines to the intensely real characters, this was a story that yanked me into its world and didn't let me surface for hours. You live because you still can, and you organize because you still can, and you fight because you still can."" -- Premee Mohamed, Nebula Award-winning author of And What Can We Offer You Tonight ""Beautiful, brilliant, and unflinching, The Free People's Village will both inspire you and devour you...in the best possible way."" -- Nicky Drayden, author of Escaping Exodus and The Prey of Gods"
