Featuring Nathan Ballingrud, Laird Barron, Polenth Blake, Leah Bobet, Indrapramit Das, Berit Ellingsen, Gemma Files, Neil Gaiman, Maria Dahvana Headley, Kij Johnson, Joe R. Lansdale, Yoon Ha Lee, Rose Lemberg, Livia Llewellyn, Alex Dally MacFarlane, Meghan McCarron, Sunny Moraine, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Chinelo Onwualu, Sofia Samatar, Rachel Swirsky, Sonya Taaffe, Catherynne M. Valente, Kaaron Warren, Peter Watts, and A.C. Wise.

"Nathan Ballingrud is one of my favorite short fiction writers."?Jeff VanderMeer

"Nathan Ballingrud's 'The Way Station' is another story of the sort I've come to expect from him: emotionally intense, riveting, and deeply upsetting in many ways. It deals with loss, with the aftereffects of Katrina on a homeless alcoholic who's haunted by the city itself be-fore the flood, and in doing so it's wrenching. . . . It's an excellent story that paints a riveting por-trait of a man, his city, and his loss."?Tor.com on The Naked City

"But the two most remarkable stories in Naked City are by relatively new authors: 'The Projected Girl' (Haifa) by Lavie Tidhar and 'The Way Station' (New Orleans and St. Petersburg, Florida) by Nathan Ballingrud are both heartbreakers."?John Clute on Strange Hori-zons

These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are mon-sters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they are ruined; sometimes redeemed. All are faced with the loneliest corners of themselves and strive to find an escape.

Nathan Ballingrud was born in Massachusetts but has spent most of his life in the South. He worked as a bartender in New Orleans and New York City and a cook on offshore oil rigs. His story "The Monsters of Heaven" won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his daughter.

"Nathan Ballingrud is one of my favorite short fiction writers."?Jeff VanderMeer

"Nathan Ballingrud's 'The Way Station' is another story of the sort I've come to expect from him: emotionally intense, riveting, and deeply upsetting in many ways. It deals with loss, with the aftereffects of Katrina on a homeless alcoholic who's haunted by the city itself be-fore the flood, and in doing so it's wrenching. . . . It's an excellent story that paints a riveting por-trait of a man, his city, and his loss."?Tor.com on The Naked City

"But the two most remarkable stories in Naked City are by relatively new authors: 'The Projected Girl' (Haifa) by Lavie Tidhar and 'The Way Station' (New Orleans and St. Petersburg, Florida) by Nathan Ballingrud are both heartbreakers."?John Clute on Strange Hori-zons

These are love stories. And also monster stories. Sometimes these are mon-sters in their traditional guises, sometimes they wear the faces of parents, lovers, or ourselves. The often working-class people in these stories are driven to extremes by love. Sometimes, they are ruined; sometimes redeemed. All are faced with the loneliest corners of themselves and strive to find an escape.

Nathan Ballingrud was born in Massachusetts but has spent most of his life in the South. He worked as a bartender in New Orleans and New York City and a cook on offshore oil rigs. His story "The Monsters of Heaven" won the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his daughter.

Offering timely advice in an era when the burden of production and publicity frequently falls on authors, this essential reference reflects on methods for being focused, productive, and savvy in the craft of writing. Discussing a wide range of essential topics for self-promoting authors, this important guide explores questions such as How can authors use social media and the internet? How does the new online paradigm affect authors, readers, and the book industry? How can authors find the time to both create and promote their work? and What should never be done? Through good-humored encouragement, practical tips of the trade culled from 25 years of experience as a writer, reviewer, editor, publisher, agent, and blogger are shared. Including topics such as personal space versus public space, deadlines, and networking, the benefits of interacting with readers through new technologies is revealed.