Hands | Rebecca Ruth Gould

"When they first met, he shook her hands boldly and directly, as if it were a normal thing to do and not a violation of the law in the Islamic Republic of Iran..."

Death Mountain | Matt Rebholz

"Up in the air anything could go wrong. Someday the engine could cut—maybe fuel had been leaking, spraying the fields like pesticide rain. The propeller would grind to a stop but the plane would push forward awhile, gliding, silent..."

In the Beginning | Kelsey Pinckney

"We went to church and when we met and sat together for the first time, it felt like always. B was always with R, which was more like usually, since nothing was quite like our always..."

Desert Daughters | Beata Garrett

"The desert swallowed my sister like Mama said it would, but it hadn’t spat her bones back yet and I was getting impatient..."

How to Build a Box | Benjamin Kessler

"Amass your lumber. Use planks recovered from Great Cottonwood, which stood out near Haystack Rock for all those years and of which pieces can still be found around Furness, Wyoming..."

Power Play | Sarah Clayville

"Now, the club barely filled half the seats and most nights, when Lea took the subway across town to watch, she felt like she was witnessing an extinction..."