Monk Ellison, a struggling black college professor, writes My Pafology as a prank: the stereotype-laden novel is a clapback at the publishers who equate “Black stories” with tropes of poverty, brutality, and violence.
But the joke, as it turns out, is on Monk: a major publisher wants to buy the novel for almost a million dollars. When he takes the call, he nearly blows the entire deal.
“This is he,” he says, crisply — and the publisher, a white woman named Paula, flinches at the sound of his voice.
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