“It’s like living in a black-and-white photo that keeps fading in the sun. Only we’re fading with it.” —After Color

From celebrated artist Malaika Favorite, winner of the Cosmographia Books Prize for Spiritual Fiction, comes a mesmerizing story told in luminous prose that makes readers feel the wonder—and terror—of seeing color in a colorless world.

In 2020, humanity lost the ability to see color. Over the next thirty years, society rebuilt itself in shades of gray.

But on an autumn morning in Atlanta, 2052, fifteen-year-old Jade Kelly perceives the impossible: a single red leaf drifting through a gray stream.

As her world fills with colors no one else can see, Jade must decide: Will she stay silent to protect herself? Or expose herself—and her gift—to a world that may never understand.

After Color asks what it means to be visibly, undeniably different in a world that demands sameness—and whether the courage to remain true to yourself can light the way for others to see.

About the Author
Malaika Favorite is an acclaimed visual artist and writer whose work is featured in major collections across the United States. Her art, which often incorporates mixed media elements like washboards and African fabrics, explores themes of ancestry, racial identity, and Southern cultural heritage. As a writer, she has garnered multiple prestigious awards, including the Cosmographia Books Prize for Spiritual Fiction (After Color, 2025), the April Gloaming Publishing Moon Meridian Novella Award (The Author Project, 2024), and the Broadside Lotus Press Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award (Ascension, 2016).