David James Poissant, LIZARD MAN
Ron Rash, BACK OF BEYOND
Charlie Smith, ALBEMARLE
R.T. Smith, WRETCH LIKE ME
Stephanie Soileau, SO THIS IS PERMANENCE
Merritt Tierce, SUCK IT
Jim Tomlinson, FIRST HUSBAND, FIRST WIFE
Daniel Wallace, THE GIRLS
NEW STORIES FROM THE SOUTH: THE YEAR’S BEST, 2009
Guest edited by Madison Smartt Bell
Pinckney Benedict, THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND THE DEVIL
Wendell Berry, FLY AWAY, BREATH
Kelly Cherry, BANGER FINDS OUT
Stephanie Dickinson, LOVE CITY
Cary Holladay, HORSE PEOPLE
Charlotte Holmes, COAST
Juyanne James, THE ELDERBERRIES
Tayari Jones, SOME THING BLUE
Katherine Karlin, MUSCLE MEMORY
Michael Knight, GRAND OLD PARTY
Stephen Marion, TOUCH TOUCH ME
Jill McCorkle, MAGIC WORDS
Rahul Mehta, QUARANTINE
George Singleton, BETWEEN WRECKS
Stephanie Soileau, THE CAMERA OBSCURA
Elizabeth Spencer, SIGHTINGS
Clinton J. Stewart, BIRD DOG
Stephanie Powell Watts, FAMILY MUSEUM OF THE ANCIENT POSTCARDS
Holly Wilson, NIGHT GLOW
Kevin Wilson, NO JOKE, THIS IS GOING TO BE PAINFUL
Geoff Wyss, CHILD OF GOD
Published by
ALGONQUIN BOOKS OF CHAPEL HILL
Post Office Box 2225
Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2225
a division of
WORKMAN PUBLISHING
225 Varick Street
New York, New York 10014
© 2010 by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data is available.
EISBN 978-1-61620-023-7
“Introduction” by Amy Hempel. Copyright © 2010 by Amy Hempel.
“Jason Who Will Be Famous” by Dorothy Allison. First published in Tin House. Copyright © 2009 by Dorothy Allison. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“New Year’s Weekend on the Hand Surgery Ward, Old Pilgrims’ Hospital, Naples, Italy” by Adam Atlas. First published in Narrative Magazine. Copyright © 2009 by Adam Atlas. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Fish Story” by Rick Bass. First published in The Atlantic. Copyright © 2009 by Rick Bass. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Cow That Milked Herself” by Megan Mayhew Bergman. First published in New South. Copyright © 2009 by Megan Mayhew Bergman. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“A Burden” by Wendell Berry. First published in The Oxford American. Copyright © 2009 by Wendell Berry. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Nightblooming” by Kenneth Calhoun. First published in The Paris Review. Copyright © 2009 by Kenneth Calhoun. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Someone Ought to Tell Her There’s Nowhere to Go” by Danielle Evans. First published in A Public Space. From Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self by Danielle Evans, copyright © 2009 by Danielle Evans. Used by permission of Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
“Idols” by Tim Gautreaux. First published in The New Yorker. Copyright © 2009 by Tim Gautreaux. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Drive” by Aaron Gwyn. First published in The Gettysburg Review. Copyright © 2009 by Aaron Gwyn. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Caiman” by Bret Anthony Johnston. First published in AGNI Magazine. Copyright © 2009 by Bret Anthony Johnston. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Discovered America” by Marjorie Kemper. First published in Southwest Review. Copyright © 2009 by Marjorie Kemper. Reprinted by permission of Gary Kemper.
“The Coldest Night of the Twentieth Century” by Stephen Marion. First published in Tin House. Copyright © 2009 by Stephen Marion. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Arsonists” by Ann Pancake. First published in The Georgia Review. Copyright © 2009 by Ann Pancake. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Small and Heavy World” by Ashleigh Pedersen. First published in The Iowa Review. Copyright © 2009 by Ashleigh Pedersen. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Cry for Help from France” by Padgett Powell. First published in Subtropics. Copyright © 2009 by Padgett Powell. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Green Belt” by Emily Quinlan. First published in Santa Monica Review. Copyright © 2009 by Emily Quinlan. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Ascent” by Ron Rash. First published in Tin House. Copyright © 2009 by Ron Rash. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Columbarium” by George Singleton. First published in Appalachian Heritage. Copyright © 2009 by George Singleton. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“This Trembling Earth” by Laura Lee Smith. First published in Natural Bridge. Copyright © 2009 by Laura Lee Smith. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Return Trip” by Elizabeth Spencer. First published in Five Points. Copyright © 2009 by Elizabeth Spencer. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Eraser” by Ben Stroud. First published in One Story. Copyright © 2009 by Ben Stroud. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Retreat” by Wells Tower. First published in McSweeney’s. Copyright © 2009 by Wells Tower. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Noon” by Brad Watson. First published in The Idaho Review. From Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives by Brad Watson, copyright © 2010 by Brad Watson. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“Visitation” by Brad Watson. First published in The New Yorker. From Aliens in the Prime of Their Lives by Brad Watson, copyright © 2010 by Brad Watson. Used by permission of W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
“Housewarming” by Kevin Wilson. First published in The South Carolina Review. Copyright © 2009 by Kevin Wilson. Reprinted by permission of the author.