Books
Short Story Contest Finalist: ‘The Prize’
In this dreamlike tale, a struggling poet sabotages the contest he’s judging.
Fernando A. Flores, guest judge for our 2019 short story contest, says his favorite stories are those that “take some kind of risk, strive for something great...Read More
‘How the Gringos Stole Tequila’ Tells the Complex Story of Mexico’s Favorite Spirit
Amid corporate buyouts, environmental threats, and cultural appropriation, can tequila keep its ties to the land?
How the Gringos Stole Tequila is the sort of book title that speaks for itself. “It was kind of tongue-in-cheek,” author and culinary travel writer Chantal ...Read More
What Does Our Fascination with True Crime Say About Us?
Rachel Monroe’s Savage Appetites asks why true-crime stories are so popular, even while they risk exploitation.
True crime has never been more popular. The 2014 hit podcast Serial ignited a burgeoning genre whose recent entries include Netflix shows (Making a Murderer, Un...Read More
Short Story Finalist: ‘The After Party’
In Jess Smith’s tense and troubling story, a wedding party turns dark.
Fernando A. Flores, guest judge for our 2019 short story contest, says his favorite stories are those that “take some kind of risk, strive for something great...Read More
‘Big Wonderful Thing’ Valianty Fits Much of Texas History Into a Single Book
Stephen Harrigan forgoes a sweeping narrative and instead opts for finely etched anecdotes to explain the state’s epic history.
Alaska leads in area, California in population, but Texas surpasses all other states in swagger, strut, and self-regard. This (partly) explains why the catalo...Read More
In This Twisted Coming-of-Age Tale, the Monsters in the Closet Are Real
Set in a creepier version of North Texas, Shaun Hamill's debut novel is equal parts beautiful and terrifying.
“My family is spectacularly bad at endings,” admits Noah Turner, the narrator of Shaun Hamill’s A Cosmology of Monsters. “We never handle them with grac...Read More
Attica Locke’s New Mystery Novel Unearths East Texas Secrets
Heaven, My Home explores how black and white people can live almost entirely different experiences inside the same time and place.
Attica Locke’s 2017 detective novel, Bluebird, Bluebird, featuring Texas Ranger Darren Matthews, was a popular and critical success. Now, in the sequel Heaven...Read More
The Large Ask
Naomi Klein concedes in her new book that fighting climate change will be expensive and disruptive. She also passionately argues that it remains our most necessary battle.
Look I understand too little too late I realize there are things you say and do You can never take back But what would you be if you didn’t even try You h...Read More
How Earl Campbell Changed Football in Texas
In Earl Campbell: Yards After Contact, a new biography of the famed player, Asher Price writes, “Earl Campbell tried, through carrying the football, to transcend race.”
In 1977, the University of Texas’ crushing running back, Earl Campbell, racked up 1,744 yards on the football field, 1,054 of those coming after initial cont...Read More