From Robert Swartwood:

First place winner:

HOUSE HUNTING by Gary A. Braunbeck

The fence is tall. Good. The mother is typical white-trash, too loud. But the kids … they seem frightened and quiet. Good. Easier that way.

Second place winner:

DEPARTURE by Donora Hillard

The terminal is unkind. You watch me go through security. In six months, you’ll say “Tell me about the nightmare,” and I promise I will.

Third place winner:

PROGRESS by Joe Schreiber

After seventeen days she finally broke down and called him “daddy.”

[read more]

Brand-new stories by: Dennis Lehane, Stewart O’Nan, Patricia Powell, John Dufresne, Lynne Heitman, Don Lee, Russ Aborn, Itabari Njeri, Jim Fusilli, Brendan DuBois, and Dana Cameron.

Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, The Given Day) has proven himself to be a master of both crime fiction and literary fiction. Here, he extends his literary prowess to that of master curator. In keeping with the Akashic Noir series tradition, each story in Boston Noir is set in a different neighborhood of the city—the impressively diverse collection extends from Roxbury to Cambridge, from Southie to the Boston Harbor, and all stops in between.

Coming November 1, 2009

Amazon

B&N

The new cover for A Prayer for the Dying.  The reissue will be released on May 26, 2009.  The Midwest Booksellers Association has chosen it as a Midwest Connections selection for the summer.

IndieBound

B&N

Amazon

Review at BlogCritics

Twitter-ization has shortened everything: blog posts, book reviews, and friendly communication. Now it’s shortened the already-shortened art of flash fiction.

Author Robert Swartwood coined the literary term “Hint Fiction” this week, describing any story that falls under 25-words, not counting the title. Until April 30th, he’s sponsoring a hint fiction contest—Stewart O’Nan (pictured), the author of “A Prayer For The Dying” and “Songs For The Missing,” will judge the final entries.

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[hint fiction contest]

Real insights into the workings of Red Lobster are found in a novel, “Last Night at the Lobster,” by Stewart O’Nan. I borrowed the book on interlibrary loan from the Grand Forks Public Library. But librarians said the book will be available here. It tells of the equipment in the kitchens, the specific duties of cooks and kitchen helpers. It describes the job of greeters, seaters and servers in all Red Lobsters.

[read more]