I was excited and proud to discover that "Pleasure To Make Your Acquaintance" is a distinguished story in Best American Short Stories 2016. It's been a crazy, hectic summer and to tell the truth it's been hard to carve out time to write between raising a toddler and making a living. Acknowledgements like this are a huge encouragement. Thank you Heidi Pitlor and Junot Diaz!
Thanks also to Crazyhorse for originally publishing this story in their Spring 2015 issue.
I'm so thrilled that Heidi Pitlor and T.C. Boyle chose "M&L" to appear in The Best American Short Stories 2015. It's a huge honor. I've been a fan of the series since Walter Mosley's 2003 edition. I was so deeply impressed by how alive and urgent each of those stories were. I read the book front to back in a single day, and by the time I was done I knew I wanted to write short fiction.
I'm deeply grateful to the editors of West Branch for believing in "M&L."
Proud and honored that Front Porch nominated "Wings of Isis New Age Gifts and More" for a 2015 Pushcart Prize. Here's a review from New Pages: Sarah Kokernot’s fiction contribution has a killer first paragraph, starting with, “Tuesday afternoons between three and four o’clock are the slowest time at Wings of Isis New Age Gifts, so that’s when my sister Lula goes into the backroom to conjure the dead.” Each line is a treat; it continues: “My sister speaks in two voices. One is her own, calm as a 911 operator and sunny as a tour guide. The second is the voice of the dead, nasal and throaty, like she’s recovering from the world’s worst sinus infection.” When their Mimi dies, she sets a test to see if Lula really can speak with the dead. It’s unpredictable, original, and well-crafted, a must-read.
You can read "Wings of Isis New Age Gifts and More" in its entirety here.
The nice thing about writing speculative short fiction is that people read -- and actually review -- speculative short fiction. From Locus Online Reviews: "Like much comedy, this one has a sort of manic intensity, with multiple themes competing for reader attention and complicating the plot... Funny and amusing stuff."
And there's another one at the SFRevu Review.
This fall I have three stories coming out all at the same time.
I would like to think this good fortune is due to hard work, an early bedtime, and some badass editors who carefully read through the slush pile.
Thanks y'all!
"Sacred Bone," first published in decomP magazine, was nominated for the storySouth Million Writers Award.
