{"product_id":"my-very-end-of-the-universe-five-novellas-in-flash-and-a-study-of-the-form","title":"My Very End of the Universe: Five Novellas-in-Flash and a Study of the Form","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMy Very End of the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e is a celebration and study of an increasingly popular genre: the novella-in-flash, a novella built of standalone flash stories. The novellas in this collection—\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eBetty Superman\u003c\/em\u003e by Tiff Holland, \u003cem\u003eHere, Where We Live\u003c\/em\u003e by Meg Pokrass, \u003cem\u003eShampoo Horns\u003c\/em\u003e by Aaron Teel, \u003cem\u003eBell and Bargain\u003c\/em\u003e by Margaret Patton Chapman, and \u003cem\u003eThe Family Dogs\u003c\/em\u003e by Chris Bower\u003c\/strong\u003e—are compact and specific, yet whole and universal, using the flexibility of the genre to offer a polyphony of setting and emotion. Accompanying each novella-in-flash is a craft essay by the author exploring the form's power, uses, and unique characteristics. The book opens with a genre-defining introduction to the novella-in-flash by editors Abigail Beckel and Kathleen Rooney, which also offers historical and contemporary context.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough the family struggles presented in these five novellas-in-flash are as old as time, the authors use the form to make them new and vital, each one presenting a self-contained galaxy of characters, while expanding—like the universe itself—into vaster realms of experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChris Bower\u003c\/strong\u003e is a writer and teacher based in Chicago. He is the curator and host of the Ray's Tap Reading Series and a founding member of Found Objects Theatre Group. \u003cem\u003eLittle Boy Needs Ride\u003c\/em\u003e, his book of short stories with illustrations by Susie Kirkwood, is forthcoming in 2015 from Curbside Splendor Publishing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMargaret Patton Chapman \u003c\/strong\u003ereceived her MFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her short fiction has appeared in\u003cem\u003e Wigleaf, The Collagist, SmokeLong, Elimae,\u003c\/em\u003e and in the anthology \u003cem\u003eThe Way We Sleep\u003c\/em\u003e, among others. She is prose editor for \u003cem\u003edecomP\u003c\/em\u003e magazine, and currently lives in Durham, North Carolina.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTiff Holland\u003c\/strong\u003e is originally from Ohio. She attended The Center for Writers at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction appear regularly in literary magazines and anthologies and have won several awards. Her novella-in-flash \u003cem\u003eBetty Superman \u003c\/em\u003ewon the Rose Metal Press Fifth Annual Short Short Chapbook Contest in 2011. She has taught creative writing and literature at Kent State, University of Southern Mississippi, and Austin Community College. She currently lives in Hawaii.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMeg Pokrass\u003c\/strong\u003e is the author of \u003cem\u003eDamn Sure Right \u003c\/em\u003e(Press 53, 2011) and \u003cem\u003eBird Envy\u003c\/em\u003e (Printed on Paige, 2014). Her flash fiction appears in 200 literary journals including\u003cem\u003e Green Mountains Review, Five Points, storySouth, McSweeney's\u003c\/em\u003e, and\u003cem\u003e Flash Fiction International\u003c\/em\u003e (W.W. Norton, 2015). Meg serves as associate editor for Rick Barthelme's\u003cem\u003e New World Writing\u003c\/em\u003e. She lives in San Francisco with a dog and two cats.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAaron Teel\u003c\/strong\u003e hails from Austin, Texas, and is currently an MFA fiction fellow at Washington University in St. Louis. His work has appeared previously in \u003cem\u003eTin House, Smokelong Quarterly, Monkeybicycle, Brevity\u003c\/em\u003e, and others. His novella-in-flash \u003cem\u003eShampoo Horns \u003c\/em\u003ewon the Rose Metal Press Sixth Annual Short Short Chapbook Contest in 2012.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"The five novellas-in-flash in \u003cem\u003eMy Very End of the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e are excellent type specimens of the genre, and the accompanying craft essays help give this chimeric form a theory and a practice. Writers interested in story structure owe it to themselves to add this book to their office bookshelves, but it's adventurous readers who will surely benefit the most, finding themselves thrilled by the surprising tales within.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eMatt Bell\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eIn the House Upon the Dirt Between the Lake and the Woods\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cem\u003eMy Very End of the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e is indispensable reading for anyone who loves fiction that defies categorization—and for anyone who simply loves engrossing stories cast in superb prose. Each of these novellas-in-flash is exquisite in its own distinct way, and collectively they demonstrate what is possible when we break the traditional confines of form and dare to invent something new.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eLaura van den Berg\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Isle of Youth\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, family dogs, all the dramas, distilled, through flash, more potent than ever. \u003cem\u003eMy Very End of the Universe\u003c\/em\u003e offers five outstanding examples of the novella-in-flash form itself, along with indispensable essays from the authors on what this blending of short and long can do.\" -\u003cstrong\u003e Jane Ciabattari\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eStealing the Fire\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"In tornado-flung trailer parks and icy lakes, citrus groves and drugstore aisles, the characters of \u003cem\u003eMy Very End of the Universe \u003c\/em\u003eyearn to soar like Superman but are, more often, prayed for. Daughters struggle to rescue mothers, sons clobber the weak, outlaws menace and bedazzle—and in 1893, a newborn says 'Hello?' in a tiny, astonishing voice. Compact, intense, and thrilling, these five novellas-in-flash show us that even in the smallest spaces, we can learn how to fly.\" - \u003cstrong\u003eRebecca Meacham\u003c\/strong\u003e, author of \u003cem\u003eLet’s Do\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!----\u003e","brand":"Itasca Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54526374215955,"sku":"9780988764583","price":15.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0948\/3521\/2563\/files\/9780988764583ita.jpg?v=1785852011","url":"https:\/\/danuc.net\/products\/my-very-end-of-the-universe-five-novellas-in-flash-and-a-study-of-the-form","provider":"Danu's Wardrobe","version":"1.0","type":"link"}