Anthologies
2025 Jack Straw Writers Anthology
Jack Straw Writers Anthology Vol. 29 curated by Kathleen Alcalá (Jack Straw Cultural Center, paperback)
Publication Date: May 1, 2025
An anthology featuring the writing of the 2025 Jack Straw Writers, as selected by Curator Kathleen Alcalá: Hillary Behrman, Mateo Bracken, Asha Dore, Makayla Danielle Gay, Bill Hollands, Sigrun Susan Lane, Jenny Harrington Lill, Nhatt Nichols, Monique Ouk, Jason Prokowiew, Mia Tong, and Connor Watkins-Xu.
Muddy Backroads: Stories From Off The Beaten Path
Edited by Luanne Smith and Bonnie Jo Campbell
"For this anthology, Muddy Backroads: Stories from Off the Beaten Path, the editors asked for stories that moved away from the norms of daily life to explore the side roads that take us away from the known. What do your characters do when they step away from what’s seen as normal or usual? What happens when they find themselves in unexpected situations or locations? What if nothing about their lives is what most consider typical? When a character takes a “muddy backroad,” he, they or she moves away from society and out into a place where anything can happen. Where will those backroads and back alleys take us?"
Contributors: Dorothy Allison, Hillary Behrman, Henri Bensussen, T.C. Boyle, Elizabeth Bruce, Ulrick Casimir, Michael Darcher, George Drew, Stephanie Dupal, Walter Evans, Michael Gaspeny, Roger Hart, David Hartshorne, Suzanne Heagy, Jen Knox, Mark Lammers, Robert McBrearty, Jayne Anne Phillips, Heather Mateous Sappenfield, Lee Scharf, Misty Skaggs, August Tarrier, Melanie Rae Thon, Luis Alberto Urrea, Siobhan Wright, and Paula Younger.
Hillary's short story, “The Jungle” was chosen by the editors and judge Alan Heathcock for inclusion in the anthology.
You may purchase a copy of Muddy Backroads directly from Madville Publishing or at your local independent bookstore.