Report an issue
Tell us what's wrong and we'll take a look.
Thanks – we got it. We'll review and follow up if needed.
The tradition of a story framed by another story traces back before recorded history. The snake has been eating its own tail for at least 7000 years. This anthology is radically new but depends on something so ancient it may be intrinsically human. Authors wrote varied pieces-contemporary, historical, futuristic, fantastical-in which a character tells a story--but the authors did not know what the story within would be! The question underlying the exercise is straightforward: Are stories so fundamental to our humanity that any story can serve as both a frame around, and an illustration within, any other? Thanks to the talent of these skilled storytellers, the result is a marvelous series of matryoshka dolls which nest inside one another, proof that experimental fiction can be fun to read, and that we exist encircled by narrative.
Benjamin Gorman
Benjamin Gorman (he/him) is an award-winning teacher, political activist, author, poet, and the publisher at Not a Pipe Publishing. He's also the host of the Tilting at Windmills podcast and the editor of the Antifa Lit Journal. His novels are The Sum of Our Gods, Corporate High School, The Digital Storm: A Science Fiction Reimagining of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and The Convention of Fiends trilogy beginning with Book 1: Don't Read This Book, continuing in Book 2: You Were Warned, and concluding in Book 3: You People Are Monsters. He's also written two poetry collections, When She Leaves Me and This Uneven Universe, and one non-fiction book, Dear America: A Breakup Letter. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Chrys, their wolf, Havoc, and the puppies, Merry and Pippin.
More by Benjamin Gorman
Rick M Cook
Rick M. Cook: When he's not writing his debut novel, The Devil's Bridge, he is working on one real-life science fiction project after another. He writes and teaches software to help top aerospace and automotive designers around the world wire their vehicles: futuristic all-electric airplanes to airplane seats and control modules to Blackhawk and Chinook helicopters to wiring for the advancement of human knowledge with satellites and space telescopes. Rick has been writing software since he was fifteen and telling stories even longer to entertain himself and friends. A Dungeons & Dragons game exposed his teenage mind to the world of imaginative storytelling, sparking his creativity every day since. He enjoys reading books of history, science fiction/fact, fantasy, thrillers, and has enough Wikipedia tabs open to support a small invading alien army's intel. He lives in Beaverton, Oregon, along with his wife and two bundles of fun masquerading as dogs. Find him at https: //linktr.ee/RickMCook.
Why Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is an ebook & audiobook platform that automatically logs how much you and your friends read, making it fun and easy to read more. Learn more →