You guys. YOU GUYS. Christopher Barzak is one of my very favorite authors ever. His work is ephemeral, gritty, and will make you catch your breath. It’s the prettiest pain you’re ever going to read. Start with Map of Seventeen or One for Sorrow to see what I mean.  Or start with his multilayered “Dead Letters” included in Arterial Bloom! I’m so thrilled to work with him!

If I’d been around, I would have been the one with my head about me, with my shoelaces tied and my hair in place.  I would have led you by your ear out of Ron’s reach, even if you struggled against me.  This is a testament of my loyalty to our friendship.  This is the reason why we need one another.  For times like this, when we’re not reasoning correctly. -Christopher Barzak, “Dead Letters”

Christopher Barzak is the author of the Crawford Award winning novel, One for Sorrow, which was made into the Sundance feature film, Jamie Marks is Dead. His second novel, The Love We Share Without Knowing, was a finalist for the Nebula and Tiptree Awards. His third novel, Wonders of the Invisible World, is a Stonewall Honor Book. He is also the author of Before and Afterlives, which won the Shirley Jackson Award for Best Collection. His most current novel is The Gone Away Place. He grew up in rural Ohio, has lived in a southern California beach town, the capital of Michigan, and has taught English outside of Tokyo, Japan. Currently he teaches fiction writing in the Northeast Ohio MFA program at Youngstown State University.

Christopher Barzak joins authors John Boden, Jennifer Loring ,Ken Liu, Jimmy Bernard, Carina Bissett, Linda J. Marshall, Dino Parenti, and Armand Rosamilia in the Arterial Bloom horror anthology published by Crystal Lake Publishing.