We recently published Thomas Kearnes’ stunning “Cheap Tricks.” Here, we ask him two questions about his story: 1) This is such a terrifying story, told with such amazing subtlety. Mr. Sutton is a horrific figure, yet he could come across as almost fatherly. It seems our narrator finally saw him for what he was — do you think the parents of the boys ever did? I’ve lost count of the tricks and lovers throughout my quarter-century of debauchery who have confided with me about their initiations into the sexual arena at shockingly young ages. The majority of these encounters could be perceived as v ..read more

Mr. Sutton invited boys to his ranch for what he called throw-downs. We were in junior high, nervous, loud, and desperate to please. My first time, I wore the slacks my mother had pressed and a button-down shirt with a stiff collar. I stood out in the pasture, hot dogs and burgers sizzling on the grill, and watched the other boys smoke cigarettes and sip the beer Mr. Sutton provided. I waited. Each time, I waited and waited and waited. His rec room boasted an endless array of photos taken when he was on the college swim team twenty years ago. Image after image of long, lean young men with sha ..read more

We recently published Chloe Chun Seim’s glorious “National Anthem.” Here, we ask her two questions about her story: 1) I love the voice here, the coming-into-their-own, realizing-who-they-are-and-who-they-love, looking-for-something-better, ready-to-change-the-world badass, matter-of-fact voice. So good! Do you think these kids (and hopefully the schoolteacher) are out there now, making things better (or at least trying)? I think this story is driven by the lofty dream that the conditions that could lead a school-board member to threaten shooting up his school and end up facing no repercu ..read more

The same year a school board member threatened to shoot up our middle-of-a-cow-pasture, K-12 school—all seven hundred of us hunkering down, subsisting on the meager snacks in our bookbags as the hours rolled by, our eager eyes too ready to mistake cattle for attackers—that same year, Katy Perry released I Kissed A Girl and things were never quite the same, for grown women and young women and everyone else, but especially for us, the cow-pasture bisexuals who in our burr-filled patch of central Kansas didn’t yet know that that word existed, bisexual, that identity/threat/promise tingling behin ..read more

We recently published Sara Siddiqui Chansarkar’s stunning “The Alley Huddle.” Here, we ask her two questions about her story: 1) The sensory details here, Sara, are beyond stunning! You transport the reader to this alley and into these lives so effectively and so powerful, it’s hard to come out of the story and realize “oh, yes, that’s not where I am right now.” What details were the most important for you to include to give this piece that feeling? You would most likely be disappointed by my answer. For me, every detail here from the type of curry the men consume to the shape the flames assum ..read more

We recently published Janice Leadingham’s wondrous “The Melissa of Cat Spit Island.” Here, we ask her two questions about her story: 1) Several years ago, I had a brief, but furious, obsession with America’s Next Top Model and this story takes me back to those days in the best way. I love how this story hits on the ANTM tropes with humor, but with compassion too. How do you walk that balance, especially with something so blessedly campy as ANTM? I loved ANTM growing up, the drama of it, and yes, so campy! I talked my husband into a marathon of the show a few months ago, and I was kind of stunn ..read more

There once was an island off the coast of Florida’s big toe that was created by Hurricane Roberta in 1950 and called Cat Spit by the fishermen who discovered it through their binoculars. For so long its only inhabitants were crabs and seabirds until Tyra and the crew brought the girls auditioning for cycle 42 there and said, “Only 13 of you will continue on in the hopes of becoming America’s Next Top Model. The rest will be left here to figure out what went wrong.” Seven is a fine number for a family, a little small for a colony, and though no one remembers their original names, we do know th ..read more

We recently published Claudia Monpere’s searing “Why I Didn’t Immediately Load the Car When My Husband Texted the Fire Was Getting Closer.” Here, we ask her two questions about her story: 1) I love how this starts out with the narrator seeming to be panicked and indecisive, then gradually reveals that maybe, maybe, there was a bit of intent in her hesitation all along. Do you think she could ever consciously admit to it? At some future time the narrator might consciously admit to some intent in her hesitation. She’s faced with the urgent decision about what to save. But she’s unable to decide ..read more

Because he’d be upset if I didn’t save the right suits, but I couldn’t remember if his Kiton or Kired suits were the luxury ones. Because the twins’ favorite toys— legos and a train set—were scattered about and there was no time to gather them. Because although the sky was orange and the air smoky, I couldn’t see flames yet. Because the baby needed feeding and my nipples were cracked and bleeding and there was never enough time for warm compresses and lanolin. Because my mother-in-law’s dark oil landscapes my husband’s first edition Hemingways his collection of antique surgical instruments. B ..read more

We recently published Marie-Louise McGuiness’s devastating “When She Falls.” Here, we ask her two questions about her story: 1) Damn. I mean: DAMN. The absolute brutal horror of the voice here. The justifications for why they let their friend go. It just hits me in the gut and doesn’t let me go. They regret it — of course they regret it, people always regret it — but do you think there is a part of them that thinks their night, compared to hers, was worth it? If it was a fun night, one usually dissected with laughter over tea and toast, a night that sparked romance or one w ..read more