A collection of short stories. Publication date: October 14th, 2025. An 8” x 5” paperback. 188 pages. This is a pre-order—any other books ordered with it will ship when the pre-order is ready to ship.

In these deftly written stories of the fantastic, Christopher Caldwell unravels the complicities of personhood and gender, slavery and war.

Saints and sailors, scoundrels and surfers.

Caldwell’s characters appear in contrasting duets—first notes during the initial half, and then again in counterpoint, when the dominoes fall in the second half.

In addition to collecting incredible stories previously published in venues like FIYAH, Strange Horizons, and Uncanny, Call and Response also features the original short story “The Lonesome Sea.”

Interior illustrations by Matthew Spencer. Cover design by dave ring.

Paperback ISBN: 978-1-966503-14-9

PRAISE

“Throughout, Caldwell brings his all-Black, mostly queer protagonists to vivid life while exploring the collision of the natural and the supernatural. This stuns.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"M’sieur Caldwell writes from a positionality as exquisite and rare as the craft and vision these stories evince. He loves us black and queer folk, and centers us in his fiction! What a delight to find a writer still attending to the fine distinctions between to drag, to throw shade, to read for filth! His well-thought-out worldbuilding, potent characterizations, and affecting plots are not just informed by what is clearly careful research, but by humane politics, a warm heart, and discerning literary experience. Call and Response is a great showcase for Christopher’s particular gift: his sophisticated prose, so changeable from story to story, but always distinctive in voice, playful and masterful in style!"
—Kai Ashante Wilson, author of A Taste of Honey

"I am so glad I get to live in the time-space where Christopher Caldwell is creating. And so happy to see these horny, heartbreaking, world-changing stories gathered together in one truly staggering collection."
—Sam J. Miller, author of Boys, Beasts & Men

"Christopher Caldwell’s stories are lyrical and wondrous, his gaze unflinching and kind. Here are visions of doomed whaling voyages, bank robbers on the run from arcane enforcers, desperate characters confronting the world’s evils, gods and saints, betrayals and joys. Caldwell calls us to witness the world as it is and as it could be. The tales in Call and Response are magic: they’ll transform you."
—Izzy Wasserstein, author of These Fragile Graces, This Fugitive Heart

"Call and Response is one of the most honest, brutal and beautiful collections of short work I’ve ever read. It is full of love and pain and a will to not just endure, but thrive. Caldwell’s rich characterization and voice infuses every story with a flesh and blood heart—a heart that will leap from the page and beat in time with your own. I am in awe of this collection. Thank you for writing it."
—Suzan Palumbo, author of Skin Thief and Countess.