Fearless Fiction

Originally published in 2011, Andrea Hairston ’74’s fantasy novel Redwood and Wildfire was acquired and recently republished by Tordotcom.

Hairston, Louise Wolff Kahn Professor of Theatre and professor of Africana studies at Smith, is a rising star in science fiction writing in addition to being a prolific essayist and playwright. “We looked at her back catalog, and it’s amazing!” Tordotcom executive editor Lee Harris says. “Her writing is sensational and deserves as wide a readership as we can give it.”

Following the journey of two performers—Redwood, an African American woman, and Aidan, a Seminole Irish man—from Georgia to Chicago at the turn of the 20th century, the book weaves together hoodoo magic, powerful storytelling, and poignant healing. Heralded as a “spectacular feat” in a recent Publishers Weekly starred review, Redwood and Wildfire won the Otherwise Award and the Carl Brandon Kindred Award after its initial publication. Tordotcom released Hairston’s fourth novel, Master of Poisons, in 2020.

REDWOOD AND WILDFIRE
Andrea Hairston ’74
Tordotcom, February 2022

This story appears as part of the Smithies Create column in the Spring 2022 issue of the Smith Alumnae Quarterly.