amelia gray
benjamin marra
Amelia Gray’s latest novel, THREATS, is our book of the month. So there. We also excerpted it a while back, so you have no excuse for playing dumb.
Benjamin Marra is the notorious, controversial, and influential creator of the comic books Night Business, Gangsta Rap Posse, Benjamin Marra’s the Incredibly Fantastic Adventures of Maureen Dowd and Lincoln Washington: Free Man! He is also one of the kindest souls we’ve ever met.
See ON THE ILLNESS, page 78
sammy harkham Sammy Harkham curates the best comics anthology out there, Kramers Ergot, makes many awesome comics himself, helps run the best book store in LA (Family), and occasionally illustrates sleeves for Bonnie “Prince” Billy albums. See THE POET, page 106
mitchell s. jackson Mitchell S. Jackson is a native of Portland, Oregon, and currently resides in Brooklyn. His collection of stories and essays, Oversoul, will be out on e-book by the time this goes to print. It’s fucking great. See OVERSOUL, page 70
michael kimball Michael Kimball is the author of four books, including Dear Everybody and, most recently, Us. His new novel, Big Ray, will be published by Bloomsbury in September, and we’re very proud to be publishing an excerpt.
See WHORES I HAVE LOVED, page 98
clancy martin A teacher of philosophy, father of three, and ex-husband twice over, Clancy is a recovering alcoholic and jewelry salesman who still manages to write amazing novels, stories, and essays. We ain’t got a fucking clue how he manages to do it all. See WHORES I HAVE LOVED, page 98
james purdy Born in 1914, James Purdy was a legendary and controversial American novelist, poet, and playwright who died in 2009 after authoring almost 20 novels and hundreds of poems, short stories, brief plays, and sketches. Despite being considered one of the True Greats by the literati, his work remains largely undiscovered, which is a real, real shame. We were lucky enough to acquire one of his unpublished plays, which you can read in this very issue. See THE ROOM ALL TO ITSELF, page 120
See MY FATHER AT THE END, page 60
tao lin Tao Lin is not a real person. Suckers! See JAWBREAKER’S MAJOR-LABEL ALBUM, page 80
robert lopez Author of two novels that are virtually impossible not to read in one sitting, Part of the World and Kamby Bolongo Mean River, and a collection of short fiction, Asunder, Robert Lopez lives in Brooklyn and is an all-around excellent human being. See THREE KINDS OF PEOPLE ON THE CROSSTOWN BUS, page 84
matthew thurber Matthew Thurber has a blog called Pudding Is Lard Again (puddingislard.blogspot.com), which is real funny. He’s also an illustrator of many things and you can read his webcomics at 1800mice.com. See THE MAGICIANS, page 58
deb olin unferth Li’l Debby—we call her that because we’re crushed out and are awkward about it—is the author of the novel Vacation, the award-winning memoir Revolution, and the collection of stories Minor Robberies. See THE MAGICIANS, page 58
paul maliszewski Paul Maliszewski hails from DC and wrote a fiction collection called Prayer and Parable. He has a wife and son (or did at the time this was printed). See THE POET, page 106
barry yourgrau Performer of various things and writer Barry Yourgrau is wholly responsible for Wearing Dad’s Head and A Man Jumps Out of an Airplane, which are both considered “classics of short fiction” by their author. As a performer he starred in the film adaptation of his book The Sadness of Sex. He also wrote the highly unusual children’s book NASTYbook. See THREE GANGSTER FABLES, page 64
22 VICE.COM