THE MEMORY LIBRARIAN AND OTHER STORIES OF DIRTY COMPUTER
Is there anything Janelle Monáe can’t do? While I’m sure she’s currently basking in all the critical acclaim for GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY (which just concluded its limited theatrical run before it hits Netflix on December 23), the singer-actress-style icon also added author to her list of accomplishments earlier this year with the release of her short fiction collection THE MEMORY LIBRARIAN AND OTHER STORIES OF DIRTY COMPUTER. The book is an extension of her 2018 concept album and accompanying short film DIRTY COMPUTER, consisting of five short stories set in an Afrofuturist cyberpunk landscape controlled by an authoritarian regime called New Dawn. In this technologically advanced but socially restrictive society, time is a luxury and memories can be wiped like a hard drive, but the compelling characters brought to life by Monáe and her collaborators fight for the freedom to love and express their multifaceted identities on their own terms. As a longtime fan of Monáe’s music, I’m thrilled to see her seamless transition into acting and fiction writing, and THE MEMORY LIBRARIAN is definitely a culmination of her artistic genius that any sci-fi lover would enjoy.
—Lauren Kirksey, Development Intern
