The Lost Queen by Heidi von Palleske
It’s rare to read a story which manages to handle full lives like that, instead of focusing only on that which serves the primary story.
fiction
Why I Wrote This Book: Issue #61
Featuring Maria Giesbrech, Jane Doucet. Adriana Oniță, and JoAnn McCaig.
Temporary Palaces by Jeff Miller
It is perhaps in the valleys between each ripple, not the peaks, that Miller does his best work. The real emotional substance of the book thrives in the quiet moments, the silence before and after the bangs.
The Fall-Down Effect by Liz Johnston
Once a family experiences a wholly destabilizing trauma, and is fractured—how does it heal or reform in the proceeding years, and is this recovery ever sufficient?
There’s Always More to Say by Natalie Southworth
With her debut collection There’s Always More to Say, Natalie Southworth demonstrates that she not only understands the skills necessary to write powerful short stories, she has no shortage of them.
Black Cherokee: An Interview with Antonio Michael Downing
So there was this moment for me where I thought: my God, everything in my life has changed, but the one thing that has held true is the presence of the Crown, and of colonialism.
The Chorus Beneath Our Feet by Melanie Schnell
Mary’s brother Jess has just returned to his hometown after serving eight years in the military in Afghanistan. His sight has been compromised by an injury, and he brings with him the body of his close friend, a fallen soldier.
Wild People Quiet by Tara Gereaux
As epigraphs go, Gereaux’s identifies commonplace racism circa 1869. The novel’s subsequent pair of historical settings, about four and eight decades later, suggest cultural change that could be measured in teaspoons.
On boxing with Nadia Ragbar
From the beginning, even with them being conjoined, I didn’t want the conflict to come from discrimination or an overtly ableist world. That never felt like the story to me.
Why I Wrote This Book: Issue #58
Featuring Marie-Josée Poisson, Alison Gadsby, Wiley Wei-Chiun Ho, Natalie Southworth
Diving Board by Tomás Downey, Translated by Sarah Moses
In recent years there has been a wealth of Argentinian horror collections from writers such as Mariana Enríquez, Samanta Schweblin, Augustina Bazterrica, as well as the anthology Through the Night Like a Snake. Added to their ranks is Tomás Downey, author of the taut and frightening Diving Board, wonderfully translated by Sarah Moses.
Every Time We Say Goodbye by Ivana Sajko, Translated by Mima Simić
The unnamed narrator of this slim, stark novel is travelling by train from a small coastal town in southeastern Europe to Berlin.
Blood Bound: Unlacing Secret Ties by Marie-Josee Poisson, Translated by Flora-Lee Bendit
Blood Bound: Unlacing Secret Ties by Marie-Josee Poisson is a work of historical fiction that reimagines the life of Madame de Pompadour, the chief mistress of King Louis XV.
Breathing is How Some People Stay Alive by Alison Gadsby
Gadsby has become a diviner of sorts, and her stories a clarion call.
