Outpost19 Books

The Outpost19 Books Regular Reader

excerpts, readings, links via email
the latest: from Alison Wellford's Indolence

I'm headed north on the train. The Mediterranean passes by the window.

I'm sitting at one of the cafe car tables, my legs crossed, my arms crossed, my suitcase at my feet. The steam of my coffee uncoils like a thread into the air, a rope I wish I could climb away.

At a far table a little girl sits in her mother's lap as the mother braids her hair. A small group of tourists huddle together and pose for photos. Others queue for their coffees, tiny cans of soda, and plastic wrapped baguettes. I bring my coffee to my lips, but it's too bitter to drink. . .

Douglas Watson's short story "The Messenger Who Did Not Become a Hero" gets noted in Best American Nonrequired Reading

"his sentences swoop, dip and dive"

"as captivating as it is graceful"

"calls to mind the best of Vonnegut"

"the funniset book I've read in a long time"

"a brisk, clever take on the coming-of-age debut novel"

Anthology editor J. Ryan Stradal with Dinah Lenney at Los Angeles Review of Books: "Trying to capture California in one book is like attempting to catch a hurricane in a shot glass"

"In California there is sun all the time and it's never cold"

Indolence at Publishers Weekly: An "accomplished debut. . . Maria's voice not only carries readers through these pages, but will stick with them afterward."

"one of the sleekest, bravest, and most explosive first novels I've read in years"

The Wes Letters at The Lit Pub and Entropy: "a captivating venture into the minds of three personalities who seem to invest their entire selves into a relationship with a man they've never met"

"destined to find its place among other recent classics of the epistolary novel narrated by smart, anxious, and questing narrators"

Ravi Mangla at Oyster Review: "The brilliance of Ledgard is in his willingness to plead ignorance. He understands that the enormity of the universe eludes human comprehension."

at Heavy Feather, Necessary Fiction, Wigleaf 50, The Collagist, Other People, The Nervous Breakdown, Word Riot, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, 3G1B, Fanzine, and 3AM

I must have heard the words “anti-seizure medication”

The Outpost19 Books Regular Reader

excerpts, readings, links via email
the latest: from Alison Wellford's Indolence

I'm headed north on the train. The Mediterranean passes by the window.

Douglas Watson's short story "The Messenger Who Did Not Become a Hero" gets noted in Best American Nonrequired Reading

Anthology editor J. Ryan Stradal with Dinah Lenney at Los Angeles Review of Books: "Trying to capture California in one book is like attempting to catch a hurricane in a shot glass"

Indolence at Publishers Weekly: An "accomplished debut. . . Maria's voice not only carries readers through these pages, but will stick with them afterward."

The Wes Letters at The Lit Pub and Entropy: "a captivating venture into the minds of three personalities who seem to invest their entire selves into a relationship with a man they've never met"

Ravi Mangla at Oyster Review: "The brilliance of Ledgard is in his willingness to plead ignorance. He understands that the enormity of the universe eludes human comprehension."

See the full list here.

forthcoming

I must have heard the words “anti-seizure medication”

The Outpost19 Books Regular Reader

excerpts, readings, links via email the latest: from Alison Wellford's Indolence

I'm headed north on the train. The Mediterranean passes by the window.

Douglas Watson's short story "The Messenger Who Did Not Become a Hero" gets noted in Best American Nonrequired Reading

Anthology editor J. Ryan Stradal with Dinah Lenney at Los Angeles Review of Books: "Trying to capture California in one book is like attempting to catch a hurricane in a shot glass"

Indolence at Publishers Weekly: An "accomplished debut. . . Maria's voice not only carries readers through these pages, but will stick with them afterward."

The Wes Letters at The Lit Pub and Entropy: "a captivating venture into the minds of three personalities who seem to invest their entire selves into a relationship with a man they've never met"

Ravi Mangla at Oyster Review: "The brilliance of Ledgard is in his willingness to plead ignorance. He understands that the enormity of the universe eludes human comprehension."

See the full list here.

forthcoming

excerpts, readings, links via email
the latest: from Alison Wellford's Indolence