Dylan Coleman Illustrates Reed Farrel Coleman’s “Jump”

Reed Farrel Coleman showed us a darker side of Coney Island with “Jump” for Mondays Are Murder. Now see Dylan Coleman’s original storyboard illustrations of the story.

Akashic Celebrates Short Story Month

May is Short Story Month, and Akashic is celebrating by featuring one short story on our website every business day in May. To launch our Short Story Month celebration, we bring you a guest post from Larry Dark, director of The Story Prize and former editor of the O. Henry Awards.

“Justice” by Riaz Mulla (from Mumbai Noir)

“The court will now pronounce its verdict,” the judge remarked plainly, as if he was going to read out the evening news.

Asghar Khan stood up in the witness box with the anticipation of a man in that twilight zone of hope when the decision has been made but not yet announced . . .

“Contents of House” by Jane Ciabattari (from Long Island Noir)

If you’re watching this, I’m dead. But don’t stop. Watch all the way through, and I suspect you’ll know who did it. This is my confession, and his . . .

“Pot Luck” by Lisa Allen-Agostini (from Trinidiad Noir)

She always left him, wandering off like a cat without provocation or explanation, returning just as suddenly and without comment after a day or a week or a month. He loved her, but it was hard to keep track of where he stood in her life. He kept her clothes neatly stacked in a chest of drawers and hoped for the best . . .

PHOTOS: Henry Rollins, Lucian Perkins, Alec MacKaye at SOLD OUT Hard Art, DC 1979 DC launch

Photos from Hard Art, DC 1979‘s DC launch event at Politics and Prose!

“Plowed” by Stephen D. Rogers

The wipers groaned as the snow fell wet and heavy, slushballs exploding on the windshield like multiple exit wounds.

The day couldn’t be more perfect.

Hunched over the wheel, Michael squinted through the chaos to the road ahead, adjusting his course to follow the trenches dug by larger vehicles.

He would finally see his father. His father would finally see him . . .

“A User’s Guide to Keeping Your Kills Fresh” by Ted Anthony (from Staten Island Noir)

Now and then, there are moments in a man’s life that offer up complete clarity. They’re rare, and rarer still is the ability to recognize them. It is only the truly intelligent, self-aware man who finds himself in a moment of clarity and actually sees it for what it is—and moves forward in a productive way.

Manny Antonio was not that kind of man . . .

Delhi Noir Editor Hirsh Sawhney Interviews Anthony C. Winkler on The Family Mansion

To celebrate the release of The Family Mansion, Hirsh Sawhney asks Anthony C. Winkler about his writing process; what he thinks should be required reading for people interested in the Caribbean; and why writing screenplays is so different than writing a novel.