MN Writer Marlon James on Fantasy, Power and Storytelling in Moon Witch, Spider King

Marlon James is a highly acclaimed author whose books include The Book of Night Women and John Crow’s Devil which have earned him several literary awards. He teaches English and creative writing at Macalester College in St. Paul, MN. In 2019 book one of his Dark Star Trilogy was published— Black Leopard, Red Wolf introduced us to a world of myth, fantasy, and history that featured the character known as Tracker, a mercenary who is hired to find a missing child and his adversary Sogolon the moon witch. Book two in the Dark Star Trilogy is now available —it’s called Moon Witch, Spider King. In this novel Marlon James shakes things up— we now get the story told from Sogolon’s point of view. Moon Witch, Spider King is steeped in African history and mythology, influenced by fantasy classics, science fiction and fairy tales. It explores power, personality, and the places where they overlap.