The Lineup — Richard Thomas

Fiction. "…(T)he thing I love most about a great story of provocative fiction is that despite being drawn to it, despite feeling enriched by it, it's impossible to feel completely good about. It contains at least one thing that is chilling and repellant that the power of the text forces us to move through despite our reservations. We cannot escape the piece without confronting fear or abjection. I need provocative fiction because it helps me remember I cannot ever fully protect myself. It centers my attention in all the very places I try to avoid. My former professor Dave Hickey once said, 'Art is what tells you things are not going to be okay.' I hope you find in this collection a story that does indeed affirm for you this agonizing truth -- how things are not alright -- in a way that is profoundly unsettling, yes, but also helps this actuality feel a bit less lonely. I know I found many." -- from the foreword by Alissa Nutting

Contributors include: Laura Benedict, Paula Bomer, Karen Brown, Shannon Cain, Kim Chinquee, Monica Drake, Kathy Fish, Amina Gautier, Tina May Hall, Nancy Hightower, Jessica Hollander, Holly Goddard Jones, Stacey Levine, Kelly Luce, Nina McConigley, Janet Mitchell, Ethel Rohan, Karin Tidbeck, Damien Angelica Walters, Claire Vaye Watkins