Anthologies

There’s a taco truck in Chicago known among a certain segment of the population for its daily specials. Late at night and during the wee hours of the morning, it isn’t the food selection that attracts customers, it’s the illegal weapons available with the special order. Each episode of Guns & Tacos features the story of one Chicagoland resident who visits the taco truck seeking a solution to life’s problems, a solution that always comes in a to-go bag. Episode 10: A Taco, a T-Bird, a Beretta and One Furious Night by Ann Aptaker Episode 11: Sopa and a Streetsweeper by Ryan Sayles Episode 12: Dos Tacos Guatemaltecos y Una Pistola Casera by Mark Troy Episodes 7-9 of Season Two are featured in Guns + Tacos Vol. 3 .

Mickey Finn: 21st Century Noir, Volume 3 , the third entry of the hard-hitting anthology series, is another crime-fiction cocktail that will again knock readers into a literary stupor. Contributors push hard against the boundaries of crime fiction, driving their work into places short crime fiction doesn’t often go, into a world where the mean streets seem gentrified by comparison and happy endings are the exception rather than the rule. And they do all this in contemporary settings, bringing noir into the 21st century. Like any good cocktail, Mickey Finn is a heady mix of ingredients that packs a punch, and when you’ve finished reading every story, you’ll know that you’ve been “slipped a Mickey.” The nineteen contributors, including some of today’s most respected short-story writers and new writers making their mark on the genre, include: Ann Aptaker, Trey R. Barker, C.W. Blackwell, John Bosworth, John M. Floyd, Nils Gilbertson, James A. Hearn, Janice Law, Steve Liskow, Sean McCluskey, Adam Meyer, Alan Orloff, Jon Penfold, C. Matthew Smith, Joseph S. Walker, Michael Wegener, Andrew Welsh-Huggins, Sam Wiebe, and Stacy Woodson.