City of Weird
City of Weird conjures what we fear: death, darkness, ghosts. Hungry sea monsters and alien slime molds. Blood drinkers and game show hosts. Set in Portland, Oregon, these thirty original stories blend imagination, literary writing, and pop culture into a cohesive weirdness that honors the city’s personality, its bookstores and bridges and solo volcano, as well as the tradition of sci-fi pulp magazines. Including such authors as Rene Denfeld, Justin Hocking, Leni Zumas, and Kevin Sampsell, editor Gigi Little has curated a collection that is quirky, often chilling, at times surprisingly profound—and always perfectly weird.
Contributors include Stevan Allred, Jonah Barrett, Doug Chase, Sean Davis, Susan DeFreitas, Rene Denfeld, Dan DeWeese, Art Edwards, Stefanie Freele, Jonathan Hill, Justin Hocking, Jeff Johnson, Leigh Anne Kranz, Kirsten Larson, B. Frayn Masters, Kevin Meyer, Karen Munro, Linda Rand, Brian Reid, Bradley K. Rosen, Nicole Rosevear, Mark Russell, Kevin Sampsell, Jason Squamata, Andrew Stark, Adam Strong, Suzy Vitello, Leslie What, Brigitte Winter, and Leni Zumas.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“If weird makes you think of funny and moving and disturbing and just plain odd in that wondrous Portland way, well, City of Weird is the book for you.” — Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins
“City of Weird is a dark, imaginative and entertaining exploration of the bizarre, set against the backdrop of Bridgetown. From the career troubles of the undead to what’s lurking in the basement at Powell’s, this book is perfect for readers who want to know what truly keeps Portland weird.” — Ian Doescher, author of the William Shakespeare’s Star Wars series
“City of Weird is everything I love about Portland: its next-gen sensibility, gleeful disregard for expectation, and that undercurrent of darkness which acts as foil to the eccentricity. I popped these stories like the handmade treats they are, and enjoyed every one.” — Averil Dean, author of The Undoing and Alice Close Your Eyes
“Forget everything you know or think you know about Portland—all that twee Wes Anderson-y Portlandia crap—this is Portland re-imagined as exactly what it is: one more screen on which to project the American Nightmare.” — Ben Loory, author of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day
“With work ranging from myths to folklore, science fiction and a surprising dark comedy of eco-feminist post-Fukushima revenge, Gigi Little has collected together a brilliant showcase of literary talent working in the Pacific Northwest.” — Monica Drake, author of Clown Girl
“Nimbly spanning the gamut from heartfelt to absurd, lyrical to laugh-out-loud funny, City of Weird confirms the suspicion held by many a Portland resident that you don’t have to look far to find the fantastical. It’ll be a long time before I walk on Mount Tabor or wander Powell’s without looking over my shoulder.” — Fonda Lee, author of Zeroboxer
“Like old pulp magazines, City of Weird runs the gamut from simply odd to straight-up horror, from comic to tragic, from short to long and, because it’s Portland, there’s even one graphic story (Jonathan Hill’s ‘How Do You Say Gentrification in Martian’). Whether you’re already a fan of the weird and horrific in fiction or just enjoy short fiction well-told, City of Weird will have something to satisfy you. Also to horrify you and make you laugh, maybe at the same time. If this is what the bumper stickers mean when they say ‘Keep Portland Weird,’ count me in.” — Billie Bloebaum, bookseller at Third Street Books
BOOK INFORMATION
TITLE: City Of Weird: 30 Otherworldly Portland Tales
EDITOR: Gigi Little
FORMAT: Paperback (6" x 9")
PAGES: 312
ISBN: 9781942436232
PRICE: $17.95
PUBLISHER: Forest Avenue Press
PUBLICATION DATE: October 11, 2016
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Graphic designer Gigi Little of Portland, Oregon is the creative force behind Forest Avenue Press’ visual identity. Outside of the domain of Forest Avenue, she has written and illustrated two children’s picture books and her fiction and essays have appeared in anthologies and literary journals.
City of Weird: 30 Otherworldly Portland Tales
is now in its fourth printing! Some of City of
Weird’s many accolades include being named
a bestseller with Pacific Northwest Independent
Booksellers, and #1 bestseller at Powell's City of
Books and Annie Bloom’s Books.
