Drowned Edward Tug by Mary Bucci Bush :: Floodwaters have invaded antebellum lakefront plantations to jeopardize the cotton crop and claim a sharecropper’s life. This damaged world is the setting for deeply human exchange between the living and the dead.
Eleven Beds by William Harrison :: Beginning with a couple’s first sexual experience and following their relationship through the years, “Eleven Beds” uses an unconventional narrative structure to present eleven defining moments in the lives of Will and Myla, revealing deep truths about the power of human attraction.
The Incredible Appearing Man by Deborah Galyan :: Should Lora let her thrilling, mysterious former lover the Incredible Appearing Man back into her life?
Ivy: A Love Story by Mathew Chacko :: Following the death of his wife, a broken man, overwhelmed by grief, relives his past joys and humiliations as he struggles to understand the love—now so starkly absent—that made his life bearable.
Kind by L. E. Miller :: A chance encounter with someone from her past leads Anne to remember her days as a young woman newly moved to the city and how her bohemian neighbors taught her about friendship, lust, and love and the shifting bedrock of “truth” on which we base our relationships.
Loeka Discovered by Seth Fried :: A team of lab scientists find their collective identity shifting with each new discovery about the fate of the mummified human ancestor they are analyzing.
Man and Wife by Katie Chase :: At nine and a half years old, Mary Ellen must begin a confusing journey into womanhood, domesticity, and matrimony. With her family’s well-being and respect at stake, can Mary Ellen handle the responsibility of her planned future?
Mister Henry’s Trousers by William McCauley :: In the impoverished, war torn country of Sierra Leone, Sheku works hard to keep the job that feeds his family when so many others go hungry. When he is blamed for a theft, he must do what is necessary to recover the stolen goods.
Motherland by Min Jin Lee :: Weaving together themes of family ties and cultural belonging, “Motherland” tells the story of Etsuko, a mother struggling with feelings of guilt and inadequacy as she seeks to atone for (and avoid repeating) the mistakes of her past without sacrificing her future.
The Rememberer by Aimee Bender :: Annie is faced with a puzzling situation: Her lover Ben is rapidly devolving, from human to ape to sea turtle. What should she do?
This Way, Uncle, Into the Palace by Paul Eggers :: For an aging Vietnamese scholar living with his nephew’s family in the United States, the phrase “suicide by cop” triggers self-conscious memories centered around his daughter’s disability and grief during the Vietnam War.
Titanic Victim Speaks Through Waterbed by Robert Olen Butler :: A man who dies on the Titanic looks back on a life of missed opportunities with regret and longing.
