Book People

Nothing says America louder than a gun. As the short stories assembled here demonstrate, firearms loom as large in our imaginations as in the news. In this unforgettable anthology, the common theme, and the essential object, is the gun. These striking stories, from such famous authors as Annie Proulx, Bonnie Jo Campbell, and John Edgar Wideman, plus a talented group of newcomers, range widely--from tender to violent, from chilling to hilarious. Tales of love, war, coming of age, and revenge, they occur in landscapes familiar or ordinary, distant or dystopian, and reflect Americans' particular obsession with, and paranoia about, guns. This masterful and thought-provoking collection moves beyond the polarized rhetoric surrounding firearms to spark genuine discussion.

Some men prey on weakness. Some use force to display power. And some will use words to break a soul. But Jacob Schmidt is not one of those men. He'll take his nicks in order to protect others and stand up against injustice.

All author proceeds from this story, which touches on domestic violence, will go to Safe Harbor Shelter. Learn more at www.safeharborshelter.com.

Keith Van Allen's protagonist is an eccentric cartoonist who's convinced he and his family were once abducted by aliens, but what he later finds out is far more startling, and his cartoon characters agree with him! Follow his weird adventure across Virginia in Ezekiel Saw a Wheel.

It's been years since Kate and Grace went on their last "Friday Adventure" with Dad, wandering around Richmond, doing interesting things, and having fun. Since their father passed away, the sisters have left home to lead their own lives. Kate is studying biology in Costa Rica, and Grace is busy at college. Neither has much time to spend with family... or to mourn. Then Grace receives a cryptic letter from Beyond, and a gift package: an old laptop with a video message from Dad. Spoken from the grave, it seems he has one last Friday Adventure for his daughters--an unusual scavenger hunt through Richmond's fascinating history, from Maymont to Macbeth, Swannanoa to Hollywood Cemetery, and beyond. Kate and Grace will follow puzzling clues, find surprising connections, and reach the final prize. But most of all, they'll work together and rediscover each other.

Six Virginia poets will read from their works.

A Friend in Need is a Man's Best Dog is a retrospective covering almost forty years of Paul Fleisher's writing career: humor, essays and verse, both published and previously unpublished. Fleisher's newest book includes satire and parodies, as well as essays on political, environmental and education issues. Also included is a small collection of short verse. Paul Fleisher is a resident of Richmond, where he served as a public school teacher for over 30 years.