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Best Advice

Reviewers are curs and their opinions are not to be taken seriously.

Best Man

He was making some green by ripping his own heart out.

Betrayal

Betrayal was written on my face, in my eyes, and I knew it.

Beyond the Glass Ceiling There’s Sky

If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.

Bildungsroman, 1999

Vultures liked to perch on the austere ledge outside my window.

Birth of the Hippo

She transfigured into a swallow in flight, or a hippo in the rainy season.

Black and White

If a friend’s family is persecuted, call Sinn Fein on that number.

Blake Haveman

He left the Meijer in the dark of the April evening and drove to the Embassy.

Blerrie Fockin’ Beautiful

When his father was out cold he tied him up, roping his arms to his sides.

Blerrie Fockin’ Beautiful

The author reads her story, a finalist in the Winter 2013 Story Contest.

Blind Love

In three years he had made her forget that blindness meant not seeing.

Blue Norton

The night was clear, a fat kingfish moon in the sky with stars.

Bolton

The bank had stated that emphatically. They had to sell and sell now. It was as if Hank had aged twice as fast, and he couldn’t stand that truth.

Bonsai

My father was neither kind nor strong in his bruising.

Border Patrol

We loaded the packs and started down, into the bluing of dusk.

Bread

When we’re all together like this it feels like hope is a possibility.

Break Room

Creating so many mail merges, loading ink, unjamming paper.

Bringing Down the House

I saw Baryshnikov twice. Heard Pavarotti, Marsalis, and Ma.

Burials

Here’s a first, he said, some nutbag wants to dig the grave himself.

Buried Voices

The story doesn’t begin until the van breaks down, I always say.

Burnice

“And if you ever tell anybody what I’m about to tell you, I’ll deny it.”

Butcher’s Crossing

“I’m looking for a Mr. Miller,” he said. “I was told I might find him here.”

Butterfly

“Why don’t you call yourself Butterfly?” he said. “A pretty thing like you.”

By Hand

The handwritten first draft pages of Robert Olen Butler's first novel.

By Hand

Liza Donnelly

By Hand

Handwritten drafts of “Byzantium,” “Easter, 1916,” and other poems.

By Hand

Words and sketches from Gail Godwin’s upcoming novel Flora.

By Hand

The notebooks reveal insertions, deletions, queries, and corrections.

Call It a Feeling

When and why had I begun to think about Ingrid Stoltz? She was a bitch.

Callbacks

We pushed through the doors, back into the audition, among the lithe adults.