Girl Country: and Other Stories

(Paperback)

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Description

Winner of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize

A near-future farmer battling environmental crises takes in a mysterious girl he finds on the roadside. A bus driver navigates through treacherous weather and memories of her tragic past as she races to save children from the end of the world. A woman keeps giving birth to children from different time periods. And a woman struggles with her young daughter mysteriously transforming into something wild and unruly, confronting themes of motherhood and family.

In Girl Country, stories range from medieval Belgium to the near-future of the American Midwest, populated by mothers and monsters, mermaids and milkmaids, nuns and bus driverswomen in every walk of life, but particularly working-class women, navigating the intersection of the mundane and the magical. Perfect for fans of Orange World and Animal Wife, these are stories about women with teethwild and alive.

Reviews

In Girl Country, Jacqueline Vogtman tells stories of hope and connection in the face of terrifying forces. The stories range in time from the Middle Ages, to our present day, to a dystopian future that is uncannily recognizable. Her characters encounter threats from environmental collapse, economic divide, and social structures that repress and contain women. Yet the stories find illumination in the darkness as the characters bend toward empathy and connection. Read Girl Country, and youll see the world with a newly refreshed vision.

Lawrence Coates, author of Camp Olvido

Author Bio

Jacqueline Vogtmans fiction has appeared in Hunger Mountain, Permafrost, The Literary Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Third Coast, and other journals. A graduate of the MFA program at Bowling Green State University, she is currently Associate Professor of English at Mercer County Community College. She has lived in New Jersey most of her life and resides in a small town surrounded by nature, which she explores with her husband, daughter, and dog. Girl Country is her first book. Find her on Instagram @jacquelinevogtman and online at jacquelinevogtman.com.