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My Avant-Garde Education
Bernard Cooper
‘My response to art was quick, metabolic and revelatory, while my response to sex was a muddle of delayed reactions and missed libidinal signals.’
A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me
David Gates
‘It took longer and longer for the next one to come, and then there wasn’t a next one.’
Ann Beattie | First Sentence
Ann Beattie
‘Several times I’ve wanted to title something one thing, but have realized or been persuaded it isn’t a good idea.’
Laura Kasischke | First Sentence
Laura Kasischke
‘There really was a moth I found in a toolbox (not as musical or interesting as ‘strongbox’), alive, in the attic, in that box.’
Foreigners
Daniel Gascón
‘It would’ve been a magical moment if my neighbours hadn’t started fucking at that very second.’
The Case of the Missing Miss Vincent
Kevin Brockmeier
‘There is a sound to finishing a story like the first note of the 3.30 bell. Inside him a great crowd goes pouring into the daylight.’
João’s War
Julia Rochester
‘He repeatedly said, “I should have been a priest.“ He was right. People sought his benediction.’
The Second Night is Ending
Mikail Eldin
‘This winter and this forest will leave you with a shiver in your heart, which will appear whenever you see a winter forest, even in pictures.’
Ninth and Race
Dan Burt
‘Prostitution, gambling, fencing, contract murder, loan-sharking, political corruption and crime of every sort were the daily trade in Philadelphia’s Tenderloin, the oldest part of town.’
Patrick French | First Sentence
Patrick French
‘In Edwardian days, if you were growing up in England (though Maurice was from Ireland) your life was regimented.’
