In Mixed Company Jenny Shank reveals moments of grace and connection between people of her hometown, Denver, through stories that contrast the city during its oil-bust era of economic troubles and court-ordered crosstown busing for racial desegregation with the burgeoning and gentrifying city of recent years.
In "Casa del Rey," a cautious pregnant woman must contend with her out-of-control and intrusive neighbor. In "Hurts," a girls' basketball team at a majority Black Denver high school clashes with a white mountain team. In "La Sexycana," a bottom-feeding journalist ventures to a dance club to confront the young Latina woman she mentored as a teenager who then cut off all contact with her. "Lightest Lights Against Darkest Darks" follows a white middle schooler bused to a majority Black school who falls under the spell of her magnetic and racially ambiguous art teacher. In "Signing for Linemen," a graduate student in medieval literature takes a job as a summer tutor for a college football team and ends up learning more than she expected about athletes, American Sign Language, and herself. In "Local Honey," middle-aged white parents bring their adopted Black teenage son to a Wu-Tang Clan concert in an attempt to bond with him.
Finalist Fiction: Anthologies 2021 Best Book Awards
Finalist Fiction: Short Story 2021 Best Book Awards
Why wait for Christmas when you can be miserable all year long! Author and humorist Alex Bernstein presents a collection of quirky, bittersweet tales calculated to ruin even the most blessed festivities. Featuring the Glimmer Train finalist (but not winner) "Brownie Mix", the infamous chapter-book parody "The #$@!# Bicycle Boys Save Christmas, Again!", the never-before-printed "Blue Christmas", and stories previously appearing in such eclectic journals as The Big Jewel, Litro, Corvus, eFiction, Dysfunctional Family Story, The Legendary, Blue Print Review, and Hobo Pancakes, "Miserable Holiday Stories" is the perfect gift for that special someone you'd rather not ever hear from again.
A Transformative Journey, A Dark Fantasy, A Psychological Drama, A Romantic Suspense and An Unconventional Horror Story—Don’t wait to read what happens next!
The unifying thread of second chances in these stories will keep the reader on tenterhooks until the last word.
“Not for Polite Society”—Can Burt, a drifter, conman and gambling addict change following forty-three years of bad behavior? On the lookout for his next mark, without regard to wiping out widows, he moves around to avoid bookies, debt collectors, and ex-wives, landing in Nashville, Tennessee. After living in Nashville for two months, Burt wants to stay. Can he genuinely change his behavior so the owner and residents of his temporary home will want him to remain?
Relationships are tough. Present or future, crazed or loving, they’re tough. Full of the “what ifs” that define speculative short fiction, some stories are an easy read, heartwarming even; others…not so much. In some there’s peace, love, and epiphany, in others revenge, horror, and death. From Mexico to Titan, Memphis to the foothills of the Himalayas, the unpredictable and the unexpected await in this exploration of the predicament that is the human condition.
This Room of Gold – Across time and space, Myla stumbles into what might be her best future. Is it?
In this collection of short stories that focuses on the modern-day experiences of Indigenous people living in Oklahoma, Johnston documents the quiet sorrow of everyday life as her characters traverse the normalized, heartbreaking rites of passage such as burying your grandfather, mother, or husband, becoming a sex worker, or reconnecting with your family after prison; the effects are subtle, yet loud, and always enduring. Whether Johnston's characters are coming of age and/or grappling with complex family dynamics, Johnston delivers the economy of loss and resilience that marks this post-colonial collection with biting, captivating prose that demands to be read from start to finish.
The stories in award-winning author John Sheirer’s Stumbling Through Adulthood show the connections between intimate, personal experiences and the broader culture of America during recent years. These stand-alone stories feature a range of characters who reappear in multiple tales like surprise visits from long-lost friends. Some protagonists grow through different life stages, adding depth and texture as they age, change, and adapt. Sheirer’s beautiful writing combines realism, struggles, failures, triumphs, relationships, family, work, humor, ethical conundrums, politics, and even a few otherworldly visitors. Through it all, empathy and hope bind these characters together as they stumble through adulthood, strive to catch each other when they fall, and step toward a better future.
Finalist Fiction: Short Story 2021 Best Book Awards
A labyrinth of compelling stories with intertwists that hold the reader in their grip from beginning to end!
Prepare to be frightened, fascinated, mystified, and romanced as you immerse yourself in the tales of this multi-genre book—noir, dark fantasy, horror, murder mystery, romance, suspense, psychological thriller, and humor.
After the only daughter of a Manhattan socialite vanishes for two days, her mother hires a female detective to find the girl—dead or alive. Trouble brews in Chinatown when a thief cleans out a flophouse safe. The door of a hospital room mysteriously opens on its own, emitting a foul odor. Magic on a small island off northern New Zealand could change the lives of two people. In New Orleans, a woman secretly employs a private detective to catch a blackmailer. The creative director of an advertising agency in Chicago faces deadly competition to win a new account. One resourceful woman matches her wits against a villain out for blood. In San Francisco, a blonde bombshell lives in hock to a vile, pockmarked gambler.
Finalist Fiction: Short Story 2021 Best Book Awards
Fiction. Women's Studies. The characters in PIGEON SOUP AND OTHER STORIES are navigating relationships and grappling with issues of translocation, language and identity, religion and culture, and food. These tales portray the dark places they inhabit physically, emotionally, or metaphorically, with twists that sometimes provide a flicker--or even a bright beam--of hope.
Finalist Fiction: Short Story 2021 Best Book Awards
He was born that way. Few would forgive his appearance. Fear and revulsion, even rage, were not unfamiliar to him. The villagers, but for one small child, have not been kind. The forest, his home, was not only a sanctuary, ironically, it also became his prison. One day, the forest offered him something more. What he found both chilled and excited him. It was a discovery that would change his life forever.
The Mask is an allegorical tale that touches upon our human frailties, inspires us to find our inner truth, and dares us to be more courageous than we can imagine.
Beautifully illustrated and designed, The Mask compels a reader to ponder important social issues such as bullying and body image as well as the meaning of beauty and truth.
The Mask recently received a starred review on Kirkus and a lightning bolt via BookLife.
Finalist Fiction: Short Story 2021 Best Book Awards
Turning Points is the product of a grand challenge to the members of Off Campus Writers' Workshop: spend a year working together to create the best writing of your life. Forty-three authors answered the challenge—some had never been published before, some bearing gaudy resumes of literary accomplishments, many in between those extremes. Turning Points is the unique product of their labors, and a celebration of 75 years of Off Campus Writers' Workshop.
