Fiction. In simple, rhythmic, nail-sharp prose, the cast of unnamed characters in THE STATE OF KANSAS survive a flood, brush their teeth, drink, attend a sinister dinner party, try to love others, think a lot about death (animal and human), and weigh the confusion of trying to and a place—decent or otherwise—in a big, beautiful, and often unforgiving America.

"THE STATE OF KANSAS is such an amazing book that I was already recommending it to people before I finished reading it. Spallholz utterly nails the way we find and create menace in apparently innocuous or homey things like bricks or piles of dishes or who really owns the cat. Her pithy pointed tales show that we're all, despite our efforts to play nice, domestic terrorists. This book is awesome."—Rebecca Brown

"I'm guessing that Lydia Davis and Diane Williams fans will be the most excited, but only because no one is waiting on new Hemingway or Carver, and Spallholz is something like the love child of all four. Don't ask me how that works, or how Spallholz does what she does, but the end result is an astonishing debut."—Christian Peet

Author City: ROUND LAKE, NY USA

Julianna Spallholz's short fiction and prose poetry has appeared in Caketrain, DENVER QUARTERLY, NOÖ Weekly, Tarpaulin Sky, both print and audio issues of Gargoyle, and elsewhere. She has collaborated her work with musicians, visual artists, a DJ, and a chef. She currently teaches writing and English in upstate New York and is at work on a second collection of short fictions. THE STATE OF KANSAS is her debut collection.

Reviews and Other Links
author site
audio: InDefinite Podcast Episode #28 @ InDigest
Amber Sparks @ Vouched Books