The Legend of the Jersey Devil, Eirik Gumeny
“The Pine Barrens, for those who aren’t in the know, is a forest. A dark, desolate, scary forest, where the trees grow out of sand instead of dirt and actually need to be set on fire to reproduce.”

Jersey Fresh, Kate Delany
“So we swing by the diner, which couldn’t be more like coming home, you say.”

One Hundred Seconds of Solitude, Corey Mesler
“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Jimmy ‘Crack’ Corn was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover magic realism.”

Decisions, Violet Schwegler
“He looks to his left and sees a plate of toast, covered in butter. On his right, a plate of glazed doughnuts, glistening in the sunlight. Across from him sits a man with a gun.”

Manual Criticism, Noel Sloboda
“But the spectacles he produced went far beyond the work of other masters.
In the hands of Francis, coyotes Cajun waltzed and raccoons Muay Thai kick-boxed.”

Letters to Wolfhaus, Christopher Woods
“As much as my wife and I enjoyed our annual stay this year,
we couldn’t help noticing that your pillows seemed unusually deflated.”

Dog Days, Robert Levin
“And in the following months (and along with a discombobulated Annie’s exclamation: ‘My God, she’s just a puppy!’ echoing in my head) I was seeing similar expressions everywhere.”

The Werebear Who Wished to Come in from the Rain, Mike Sweeney
“Things that once were are again, things old and unseen. They roam the earth they called their own long before there was a New Jersey or even an America.”