Margaret Elysia Garcia releases Chicana Noir & Other Stories at the Pump House

Margaret Elysia Garcia releases her latest collection of short stories, Chicana Noir & Other Stories (El Martillo Press, 2026) at the Pump House. Opening readings by David A. Romero, Alejandra Roggero, Ellen Webre, Laila Freeman and Sydney Boone.

The Pump House

13024 Walnut St

Whittier, CA 90602

4 - 7 pm

Margaret Elysia Garcia

David A. Romero

Ellen Webre

Laila Freeman

Sydney Boone

About the book

"In Chicana Noir and Other Stories, the real horror isn't supernatural—it's adjuncting without health insurance. From the fever dream of "Chicana Noir Story # 1" to the revenge fantasy of "The Last Cruise," Margaret Elysia Garcia writes with the urgency of someone who knows that survival itself is resistance. Garcia's narrators exist in the margins: too educated for some spaces, not "authentic" enough for others, navigating a world where the supernatural feels way more believable than the American Dream. A demon sits on your chest in your dead brother's room. Your grandmother practices witchcraft to protect the family. A serial killer terrorizes the city while three teenage girls form a blood pact. From "Come and Play" to "The Last Cruise," these stories pulse with the rhythm of Whittier Boulevard, the Smiths on repeat, and the complicated inheritance of being a Chicana-in-Doc-Martens in a country that wants you invisible. Garcia has created something rare: a collection that's both deeply personal and politically urgent, where punk feminism meets magical realism and neither apologizes for taking up the space."

–Ariel Gore, author of We Were Witches, The Wayward Writer, and Rehearsals for Dying

About the author

Macondo fellow Margaret Elysia Garcia is the author of the poetry collection the daughterland (El Martillo Press, 2023), the short story collections Chicana Noir and Other Stories (El Martillo Press, 2026) and Graft (Tolsun Books, 2022), and the poetry chapbooks Your House is on Fire (Daxson Publishing, 2026), Iconistas!, and Burn Scars, (Lit Kit Collective, 2025, 2022). She’s the co-editor of the Golden Poppy Award finalist in non-fiction anthology Red Flag Warning: Mutual Aid and Survival in California’s Fire Country (AK Press, 2025). She’s the winner of the James L. Doti Outstanding Graduate Student Award from Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Chapman University.

About the guest authors

David A. Romero is a Mexican-American poet, novelist, and publisher from Diamond Bar, CA. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of El Martillo Press. Romero is the author of the novel The Enemy Sleeps (El Martillo Press, 2026) and the books of poetry My Name Is Romero (FlowerSong Press, 2020) and Diamond Bars 2 (Moon Tide Press, 2024). Romero has received honorariums from nearly a hundred colleges and universities in thirty-four different states in the USA and has also performed live in Mexico, Italy, and France. His poem, "You Were Born a Tree" was sent to the Moon by NASA in 2025 as part of the Lunar Codex. Romero's work has been published in literary magazines and anthologies in the United States, Mexico, England, Scotland, Cuba, Canada, and Hungary. Romero has opened for Latin Grammy winning bands Ozomatli and La Santa Cecilia. Romero's work has been published in anthologies alongside poets laureate Joy Harjo, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Luis J. Rodriguez, Jack Hirschman, and Tongo Eisen-Martin. Romero has won the Uptown Slam at the historic Green Mill in Chicago; the birthplace of slam poetry. Romero's poetry deals with family, identity, social justice issues, and Latine culture. 

Ellen Webre is a poet and social media specialist for Two Idiots Peddling Poetry and Moon Tide Press. She is a recent graduate of UCI’s Masters in Teaching program, and has a BA in screenwriting from Chapman University. She has been most recently published in Moon Tide Press’ Sh!t Men Say to Me Anthology, DARK INK: A Horror Anthology and Voicemail Poems.

Laila Freeman is an award-winning journalist from Southern California. She has a variety of bylines featured in Long Beach Local News, Fullerton Observer, Signal Tribune, and more. In 2026, Freeman won first place at the OC Press Club awards in the Best Music/Entertainment Story, Sponsored Content category. A highlight from her career thus far is interviewing NBA Laker Champion Pau Gasol about his children’s health foundation. Freeman is always striving to positively inform and impact others via her writing and reporting. 

Sydney Boone (they/them) is a poet, essayist, editor, and ecologist with BAs in English and Biology. They are currently an MFA Student in Creative Writing at Chapman University.