Wesley Browne spins a riveting tale in his debut novel, Hillbilly Hustle
When we first meet Knox Thompson, the protagonist in Wesley Browne’s astounding debut novel Hillbilly Hustle, he’s a 40-something, slightly overweight nobody, planning to make a quick cash haul at a backroom poker game. As he soon learns, the best-laid plans often go awry.
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An aspiring writer toughs it out in Lily King’s Writers & Lovers
The heroine of Lily King’s fifth novel, Writers & Lovers, is 31 years old, deeply in debt, and living in a potting shed, but she won’t let her writing dream die.
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Leesa Cross-Smith’s story collection makes a joyful statement
Leesa Cross-Smith’s new book of short fiction, So We Can Glow, feels like a radical act of joy. On the whole, the collection is a sexy, impressionistic feast of feminine energy and agency.
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Trauma runs throughout Tiana Clark’s I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood
The poems in Tiana Clark’s debut collection, I Can’t Talk About The Trees Without The Blood, propel us into encounters with traumas ancient and immediate, blurring any distinctions of time.
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Frail and failing, retired detective Buck Schatz defends lethal punishment for a serial killer he put away
When last we checked on author Daniel Friedman’s character Buck Schatz, we were hoping the long-retired Memphis police detective would make it to his next decade — in spite of his medical issues, miserable outlook, and unwavering commitment to Lucky Strikes. Fortunately for fans of memorable mysteries, Friedman has delivered the third book in the series, which, given that Schatz is now nearly 90, is aptly titled Running Out of Road.
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Patti Smith chronicles her idiosyncratic path through the creative life in Year of the Monkey
As evidenced by the travels depicted her most recent memoir, Year of the Monkey, Patti Smith has embodied the nomadic spirit of the public troubadour for decades. Whether she’s performing riotous sets with her band or working side by side with literary lights, Smith has forged a role in our arts culture unlike any other.
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