The Best of The First Line Editors' Picks: 2002-2006 (Paperback)

by The First Line (various) (Author), David LaBounty (Editor), Jeff Adams (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Best of The First Line Editors Picks: 2002-2006 contains twenty-three of our favorite stories from Spring 2002 (our first perfect bound issue) to Winter 2006 (Jeff s last issue with the journal).

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Blue Cubicle Press, LLC; 1st edition (April 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974590061
• ISBN-13: 978-0974590066
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,853,354 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice collection from an admirable little literary magazine, April 28, 2008

By	Matthew McHugh "mattmchugh.com" (NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first discovered "The First Line" about five years ago. One of the increasingly rare breed of "little" literary magazines devoted to short fiction that actually publishes in print, TFL has an excellent hook to draw in writers and readers alike: every story in a given issue must begin with the same opening line, as provided by the editors. As one might imagine, this yields stories that spin off in a wide range of directions from a common starting point, and simply following those different variations on a theme would be interesting enough reading -- but the stories in TFL are tight, well-crafted gems, each one a satisfying work in its own right.

This anthology presents 23 stories chosen by the editors Dave LaBounty and Jeff Adams from issues of TFL published between 2002 (Volume 4) and 2006 (Volume 8). As with the magazine itself, you'll find a whole spectrum of subjects and styles covered by the contributors, and even if you lose some of the resonant effect that occurs when reading a single issue, the stories are consistently good enough to stand alone (I hereby confess my bias openly, as two of mine are included). Each story is prefaced with a snippet of the introduction from the issue it appeared in, as well as a short comment from the nominating editor. There are two pairings in this anthology where each editor picked a story from a single issue, giving you a glimpse of divergent takes on a single line that is TFL's trademark.

As "The First Line" celebrates its tenth year in 2008 -- a notable achievement for a print-based lit journal supported only by subscriptions (no English Department money here!) -- this collection is a fine signpost to mark that milestone. I'm proud to be associated with this enterprise in my own small way, and I've enjoyed reading every issue over the last few years. I think anyone interested short fiction today will find this little anthology a worthwhile view of the landscape.

-- mm


The stories in this book are:


"Hunting" - Gabe Posey
"Armelle of Leeds" - Craig Waldron
"Derailment" - Margaret B. Davidson
"When Lester Stopped Asking" - Nicole Burris
"Open Mic Night at Beethoven's Tenth" - Laila Strickland
"Zero Mountain" - Wolf Finkbeiner
"Jewels and Cinders" - Melissa Mead
"Proof" - John Vanderslice
"Freak Showing" - Matt McHugh
"Death in Sarajevo" - Bojan Pavlovic
"Having Left it Behind" - Rati Mehrotra
"The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship
Friesland" - Mary Robinette Kowal
"Of Fresh Baked Bread and Frozen Pizza" - Rebecca Wolfe
"See You in the Funny Papers - Matt McHugh
"A Boy's Best Friend" - Jason Gossard
"The Solicitor's Clerk" - Scott Bailey
"Seven Days" - Jennifer Schwabach
"Usha Tai's Lost Something Again" - Swapna Kishore
"Legacy" - Cheryl Hicks
"The King of Left-Handed Bullfrogs" - Chris Gauthier
"Birthday" - Jesee Cole
"Dulce Domum" - M. M. De Voe
"Enough" - Caroline Taylor


=========