Tiny Crimes: Very Short Tales of Mystery and Murder - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1936787873 ISBN 13: 9781936787876

Publisher: Black Balloon Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

Forty very short stories that reimagine the genre of crime writing from some of today’s most imaginative and thrilling writers

“An intriguing take on crime/noir writing, this collection of 40 very short stories by leading and emerging literary voices―Amelia Gray, Brian Evenson, Elizabeth Hand, Carmen Maria Machado, Benjamin Percy, Laura van den Berg and more―investigates crimes both real and imagined. Despite their diminutive size, these tales promise to pack a punch.” ―Chicago Tribune, 1 of 25 Hot Books for Summer

Tiny Crimes gathers leading and emerging literary voices to tell tales of villainy and intrigue in only a few hundred words. From the most hard-boiled of noirs to the coziest of mysteries, with diminutive double crosses, miniature murders, and crimes both real and imagined, Tiny Crimes rounds up all the usual suspects, and some unusual suspects, too. With illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook and flash fiction by Carmen Maria Machado, Benjamin Percy, Amelia Gray, Adam Sternbergh, Yuri Herrera, Julia Elliott, Elizabeth Hand, Brian Evenson, Charles Yu, Laura van den Berg, and more, Tiny Crimes scours the underbelly of modern life to expose the criminal, the illegal, and the depraved.

About this title

Review:

Praise for Tiny Crimes
Chicago Review of Books, A Best New Book of June 2018
CrimeReads, One of Summer's Most Anticipated Crime, Mystery, and Thrillers
Cupcakes and Cashmere, The List: What to Read This Week

"For those who crave instant gratification, this collection of bite-sized crime stories from well-known names and rising talents will whet your appetite. Ultra-short pieces, most only a few hundred words, feature fictional tales as well as real-life crimes from authors like Elizabeth Hand, Adam Sternbergh, Brian Evenson, Amelia Gray, and Carmen Maria Machado." ―Harper's Bazaar, 1 of 16 Steamy New Books to Kick-Start Your Summer

“An intriguing take on crime/noir writing, this collection of 40 very short stories by leading and emerging literary voices―Amelia Gray, Brian Evenson, Elizabeth Hand, Carmen Maria Machado, Benjamin Percy, Laura van den Berg and more―investigates crimes both real and imagined. Despite their diminutive size, these tales promise to pack a punch.” ―Chicago Tribune, 1 of 25 Hot Books for Summer

"Forty writers explore 'the criminal, the illegal, and the depraved,' including Benjamin Percy. His 'We Are Suicide' is a gem about alienation and how it may leave a 'stain . . . bigger' than we see. These mini-mysteries will fit in your pocket." ―Star Tribune (Minneapolis), 1 of 45 Books You'll Want to Read This Summer

"These bite-sized tales of murder and mayhem are absolutely perfect. . . . You're bound to love this book, full as it is of depravity, double crosses, and intrigue―perfect for giving you chills on the hottest of days." ―NYLON, 1 of 46 Great Books to Read This Summer

"Very short but very satisfying tales of mystery, villainy, and murder. . . . The perfect companion in between dips in the ocean, this is a must-read for crime fans." ―Bustle

"[Editors] Michel and Nieto and all of the authors have done a superb job creating a kaleidoscope of death and dismemberment. . . . Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto’s Tiny Crimes is the perfect book to take with you to any airport, any doctor’s office, any police station . . . well, anywhere you need to take a break from the world and experience some good stories." ―Criminal Element

"There are lots of nifty touches in Tiny Crimes. The index is amusing, if not exactly necessary. . . . I was inspired flipping through this collection and found it useful in my day job―not doing crimes but teaching creative writing to high school kids. . . . So steal a copy of this book from your local bookseller or get a copy from the wonderful imprint Catapult. Catapult is doing lots of cool literary things and giving new writers a forum. . . . Tiny Crimes, released June 5th, is perfect for the beach, the plane, or the stakeout." ―Critical Angst

“With only a few hundred words at their disposal, the authors find inventive ways to tell their compact tales of mystery, often eschewing ornate whodunit plots for varied storytelling techniques. . . . The tenor of each piece varies from the dreamlike (Laura van den Berg's 'Friends') to the deliciously gruesome (Richie Navarez's 'Withhold the Dawn'). . . . The range of writers from leading independent presses is impressive.” ―Library Journal

"Do you like crime fiction? Do you like very short fiction? Well then! This anthology has contributions from the likes of Yuri Herrera, Carmen Maria Machado, Charles Yu, and Laura van den Berg. All in all, forty writers distilling crime stories to their essence, revealing the range of the form along the way." ―Vol. 1 Brooklyn

"Tiny Crimes is like a magical locket you open and out pour so many stunning strands of universe you can barely hope to contain again. Not only is there something delightful in reading the works of our greatest authors like this side by side; there is something so deliciously subversive in this anthology's insistence that all sorts of enormities be delivered as diminutive. Microfiction here means the classical, the experimental, the transgressive, the mannered, the American, the transnational―no matter where we go within it, this restless unsettling gem of a collection is unforgettable." ―Porochista Khakpour, author of Sick

"This collection of rabbit-punch stories demonstrate the limitless power and possibilities of crime/noir, a genre not afraid to tell you all about the downtrodden and outsiders who are gonna get you and get you good. Tiny Crimes packs a big wallop." ―Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World

"Who knew so many of today's best fiction writers were such devious and depraved individuals, with hearts keen to a whole array of illegal or at least ill-advised desires, with minds capable of planning unlikely capers―or at least of coming up with particularly bold alibis? Tiny Crimes is a fantastic celebration of its genre, and its many diminutive capers are sure to thrill and surprise even hardened readers of the form." ―Matt Bell, author of Scrapper

"A compact, neatly designed, and very, very enjoyable set of extra-short stories, aka flash fiction, that set out mysteries, suspense, crime, or astonishing darkness. It's as if editors Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Neito skimmed the best and strangest tales from all the strongest mystery magazines going, and packed them into this intense block of well-designed illustrated pages." ―Beth Kanell

Praise for Gigantic Worlds, edited by Lincoln Michel and Nadxieli Nieto

“Excellent.” ―Vice

"I really cannot recommend this book enough. Chock full of contemporary sci-fi stories. Funny, weird, transgressive, memorable, transfixing, haunting, and hands down impressive. Best sci-fi anthology since 'Dangerous Visions'. A gem!" ―Matt Lewis, editor of the States of Terror anthologies

Praise for Upright Beasts by Lincoln Michel

“Weird, darkly funny stories...Michel ably handles modes from lyrical to ironic.” ―New York Times

“[Upright Beasts] reminded me of the absolute wonder great fiction creates”―Roxane Gay

“If you were taking the pulse of American short fiction circa now, you might begin with Lincoln Michel’s Upright Beasts.” ―BOMB Magazine

“Deadpan and life affirming, the stories in this genre-bending debut veer from an apartment complex for the suicidal to a ghostly artists’ colony to the innards of wild things.”―O, The Oprah Magazine

“Michel, one of the country’s most respected literary journalists, is also well known for his short stories that defy easy classification”―Men’s Journal

“The stories are full of monstrous surprises and eerie silences. But who is the real beast? Michel quietly, but unequivocally, leads readers to the answer as he navigates weird tragicomedy of daily life. With zombies.”―Vanity Fair

About the Author:

Lincoln Michel is the author of Upright Beasts, a collection of short stories from Coffee House Press. His fiction and criticism appear in The New York Times, Vice, Granta, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, the Pushcart Prize anthology, and elsewhere. With Nadxieli Nieto, he is the coeditor of Gigantic Worlds, an anthology of science flash fiction. You can find him online at www.lincolnmichel.com.
Nadxieli Nieto is an editor and art director. She is the coeditor of Carteles Contra Una Guerra, which won the Premis Ciutat de Barcelona, and the Gigantic Books series. Formerly, she was the managing editor of the award-winning NOON annual and the editor in chief of Salt Hill journal. Her poetry has appeared in publications such as New York Tyrant, West Wind Review, and Washington Square Review, among others. She is on the steering committee of Latinx in Publishing (LxP) and teaches at CCNY. Her collaborative artist books may be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum.

About this edition

• Publisher: Black Balloon Publishing
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1936787873
• ISBN 13: 9781936787876
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Michel Lincoln, Nieto Nadxieli