Scream Queen

In Scream Queen, Jeremy Griffin’s latest collection of short stories, we find characters fighting their way onto and off of the fringe. Be it a museum docent whose son is doing hard time, a town under siege by an insatiable alligator, or the titular scream queen, grappling with her fading and bizarre fame, Griffin is able to pinpoint their most intricate and exhilarating desires, what defines and motivates them as they navigate their corruptions. Facing their mortalities, his characters feel all their more real, their desperation so genuine, so familiar, so intoxicating.

—Michael Czyzniejewski