This September, BookSwell’s Read Local SoCal pick is Orbital Bebop by Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett, six linked speculative stories that travel from a 2067 California uprising to the cusp of the Year 3000, with Black queer lives at the center of every one. We’re reading it together all month, and we invite you to read along.
About the book
Orbital Bebop is a daring collection of speculative stories set from the Moon to the edge of the Year 3000. Black queer lives take center stage amid corporate empires, alien intelligences, and fractured futures. Each tale blends intimacy and rebellion, where romance, memory, and desire collide with power and control.
“This isn’t your father’s science fiction, and that’s a good thing.”
Jerry L. Wheeler, Out in Print
Published by Running Wild Press / RIZE Press, March 2026. Speculative Fiction / Short Stories.
Meet Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett
Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett is a queer author and activist. His debut short story collection, Dark Corners, was named Best Fiction of 2019 by Kirkus. His science fiction collection Orbital Bebop was published in 2026, and he is beginning a scifi/fantasy mystery series, the first of which, The Lovers Bridge, arrives in 2027. Tihi serves as Executive Director of the Center for Story-based Strategy, which trains progressive activists and organizers to build narrative strategies for social change. He lives in Puerto Vallarta with his cat Mengo and his partner, Luis.
A Southern California book, by way of speculative fiction. Orbital Bebop opens on Earth in 2067 California with “Reclamation,” and Tihi is a longtime part of the LA literary community, having read in BookSwell’s Intentional Intersectionality event in 2019. That’s the local thread we lead with, even though he now lives in Puerto Vallarta.
Follow Tihi on Instagram at @tihi_rizh and at reubentihihayslett.com.
In the guide: a Q&A with Tihi
This month’s free discussion guide includes an exclusive Q&A with Tihi, on why the collection is six linked stories instead of a novel, what a billionaire’s shadow is doing in a book about the future, and the one conversation he hopes a SoCal book club will have.
“It’s so easy to talk about what’s wrong now, but it’s actually very challenging to talk about what changes in the future when we solve it. In large part Orbital Bebop is actually walking people through that thought exercise.”
Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett, in the September Read Local SoCal discussion guide
Companion reads
More speculative fiction centering Black and queer futures. Bookshop.org affiliate purchases support the author and independent bookstores.
How to participate
- Get the book on Bookshop.org, which supports independent bookstores.
- Download the free discussion guide, built for book clubs or reading on your own.
- Join the conversation. Follow @bookswellclub and tag your thoughts with #ReadLocalSoCal.
- Come to a BookSwell event. See what’s coming up on our events calendar.
Get the free discussion guide
Sign up and we’ll send you the Orbital Bebop discussion guide, plus a mid-month question and a wrap-up as we read along together.
About Read Local SoCal
Read Local SoCal is BookSwell’s monthly celebration of local authors, with a special spotlight on Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, LGBTQ+, women, nonbinary, and indie writers. One book a month, January through mid-November. Think globally, read locally.
