'Artifice and authenticity ...'

'Artifice and authenticity are central themes tying together Matt Runkle's eclectic debut short story collection,' writes Pedro Ponce in a great writeup of The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales in the LA Review. 'While artifice is everywhere in these stories,' he continues, 'it is not a source of cynicism or despair; rather, artifice is elemental—a material both resistant and pliable, with which characters map and navigate reality.' Order a copy HERE!

'... animals out of humans ...'

Zachary Kocanda at the Mid-American Review wrote a really thoughtful and thorough review of The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales. He says the book '... makes animals out of humans, showing them at both their best and worst. It strips what makes us all one confused, messy yet beautiful species.' Get the book from Small Press Distribution!

Relationships as Collage

Anna Mebel wrote a new review of The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales for PANK. About the two main characters in the titular story, Mebel says, ‘Runkle finds the tragedy and beauty in such mismatches—he treats relationships as collage.’ She also writes, ‘Runkle mixes fairy tales, love stories, satire, dystopia, prose poems, and careful observations of the ordinary.... The stories in the collection are driven by unfulfilled desire and the weight of unexplained, mysterious pasts.’ You can find the book over at Small Press Distribution.

Impromptu Nancy sez ...

Meeah Williams at sparrowmuffin recently reviewed The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales (Brooklyn Arts Press, 2014). She really captures the collection's spirit with a Joe Brainard-inspired drawing of 'Impromptu Nancy,' who sez: 'Different enough to be worth reading.' You can buy the book from Small Press Distribution!

'Intimate in detail ... wide in scope and variety'

Foreword Reviews has posted a new review of The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales. They describe the collection's stories 'as intimate in detail as they are wide in scope and variety,' and calls them 'vignettes, hints at the lives of characters who come and go throughout the book, often while leaving an indelible mark on the reader.' You can buy the book from Small Press Distribution!

Heavy Feather Review

There is a great, thoughtful review of The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales by Mike Jacoby over at Heavy Feather. 'The images,' Jacoby writes, 'in addition to the sentences, are crystalline, pretty, and border on bizarre. On the sentence level, readers will be driven forward by language that feels like one of Runkle’s texturized collages.' And this:

The impact of isolation continuously evolves in Runkle’s collection, culminating in a devastating yet satisfying final tale. Hang out with Runkle’s stories long enough to become oriented in them, and you lean in little by little until you’re absorbed. 

You can buy the book from Small Press Distribution, where it's now on their 'SPD Recommends' list!

Review from Kirkus!

Kirkus feels mixed about The Story of How All Animals Are Equal & Other Tales—but their confusion is the best kind possible: 'Runkle creates an array of worlds that will at different times surprise, confuse and entertain,' they write. And if you cherry-pick the good parts, you get, 'Highly imaginative & uncanny ... told with fresh, stunning language.'

The book drops December 1, but you can pre-order it now over at Brooklyn Arts Press. The first 50 who pre-order will get a free letterpress broadside of one of the book's 22 stories!

Rob Kirby's Round Up

Rob Kirby reviewed RUNX TALES 3 over at his blog last week, along with great-looking work by Sar Shahar, Sasha Steinberg, Eric Kostiuk Williams, and Sophie Yanow. Rob is a force—not only a talented cartoonist, but an unceasing champion of queer independent comics. While you're over there, check out the sneak preview of TABLEGEDDON, an anthology Rob is editing about comics convention culture.