“Flood Street Fire” by Oscar Holiday

Flood Street. I wound up there after a long period of debauchery, or so I’m told . . .

Johnny Temple Interviews Elizabeth Nunez and Tayari Jones

To celebrate the release of Elizabeth Nunez’s memoir, Not for Everyday Use, Johnny Temple spoke with Elizabeth Nunez (author of eight novels, including Boundaries and Anna In-Between) and Tayari Jones (author of Silver Sparrow, The Untelling, and Leaving Atlanta) about teaching, writing, family, memory, and more.

“Enchanted” by Austin McLellan

The cop’s fingers were as thick as the sausages he stabbed with the fork and stuffed in his mouth. Probably as greasy, too, Tual thought as he drank coffee in a booth. He watched the cop sitting at the counter . . .

“District Coincidental” by Jean Marie Ward

“A congressman, a senator, and a lobbyist walk into a bar.” Rich tipped his beer in the direction of the bar’s latest arrivals. “Anyplace else that would be the start of a joke. Here it’s business as usual . . .”

Dark Days in Port-au-Prince (Part 3, Ibi Aanu Zoboi)

Read part one of DARK DAYS IN PORT-AU-PRINCE, our Haiti-set noir short story that was written by Haiti Noir and Haiti Noir 2: The Classics contributors in the style of an exquisite corpse, a collaborative writing process in which each author builds a story based upon what his or her predecessors have provided. Haiti Noir contributor Ibi Aanu Zoboi continues this haunting short story.

“Fresh Air” by Laurie Loewenstein

They stood off to one side of the excited throng who were cheering and holding up hand-lettered signs as the TrailWays Bus pulled into the church parking lot. Val chewed at the skin around her nails. When she saw Mark watching her, a tight smile crossed her face.

“It’ll be okay?” Her eyebrows raised in question. “He’ll be a good kid. Right? The Fresh Air people wouldn’t send him if, you know, he had problems . . .”

“Mathers Bridge” by John J. White

With the full moon there’d be a strong tide to pull the shrimp from the warm lagoons to their spawning ground in the Atlantic. It seemed like all of God’s creatures needed love and were willing to risk everything for it . . .

Review: The Dead Run by Adam Mansbach

Akashic intern Lisa Martens reviews The Dead Run by Adam Mansbach (Harper Voyager).