Origin Stories

“Vallianatos shines in this wide-ranging collection.”–Publishers Weekly

“Vallianatos reveals a series of epiphanies that transcend the mundanity of their circumstances in this triumphant and compact collection.”–Lennie Roeber-Tsiongas, Cleaver Magazine

“In graceful, steely prose, Origin Stories conveys Vallianatos’s unique understanding of interpersonal relationships–familial, professional, and therapeutic. We often encounter her protagonists in moments of adversity; the strength of their resolve and the ways in which they contend with crises are enchanting, disturbing, and provocative in turn. A superb collection.”–Camille Bordas, author of How to Behave in a Crowd

“These dark, devastating stories are love meditations, each offering a secret lesson on how to navigate our new world as woman, daughter, mother, artist. Page-turners each one, full of power, brilliance, and racing energy.” –Deb Olin Unferth, author of Barn 8

“Vallianatos’ descriptions are achingly beautiful.”–Louise Marburg, The Hudson Review

“You know when you read a book and it’s so good, so full of wisdom and inventive turns of phrase and perfectly insightful observation, so ruthlessly attuned to the thrilling dark heart of things, that you start to feel envious and even a bit spooked and begin underlining sentences on every page? Origin Stories is that book, and more. Corinna Vallianatos is a brilliant writer, and this is one of the best new collections I’ve read in years.”–Eric Puchner, author of Dream State

“All I ever want to read is writing that is precise, surprising, and funny; Origin Stories has all of those qualities, and more. Corinna Vallianatos’s elegant, agile stories spark with inquiry and insight into what goes on between people, and inside ourselves.”–Rachel Khong, author of Real Americans

“Vallianatos is the master of cold laughter, of the marginally amused sideways glance that murders you a little bit. Her output is spare. Precise. Every single word she writes is true.”–Jessica Anthony, Electric Literature

Corinna Vallianatos is the author of The Beforeland and My Escapee, winner of the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction. Her work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2023, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. She lives in California and Virginia.

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