Last fall, we spoke with Michelle Ross, who is the Fiction Editor at Atticus Review.

I was picking a piece of viscera out of my teeth with a thin shard of femur when I received a communication from a littermate, one I long assumed had either trudged off to Alaska with the grizzlies or finally fallen into a ravine as dinner for the coyotes.

It was always the same spot. The exact same spot. First it was a money plant. Then a bird of paradise several weeks later. Then an aloe which was quickly followed by a schefflera. It took me a few months to realize it was always on that particular spot of the windowsill. I would wake in the morning to find one of my houseplants shriveled and crumpled as though it had been strangled in the night.

“This wallpaper is almost psychedelic,” Rian said, running his hand along the pattern. Up close, the image was beautiful, but uncanny. “It looks like eyes.”

“I kind of see a mouth,” Toby said, placing their weekend bag on the bed.

It began when a tiny sputtering stream of water rained down on Kevin O’Donnell’s forkful of au gratin potatoes as he lifted them towards his mouth. He paused, examining his fork, and then he looked across the dining room table at his wife, Tori who had also witnessed the offending water spout.

“May I have your name, sir?” asked the mousy young woman who stood just beyond the threshold of the concave wooden door.

“Yes. It is Edward Irving,” I replied.

Having been dispatched by S.P.O.O.K. to investigate the Weill family and Summerland, their “institute for psychical research,” I gave a pseudonym, wishing to keep my identity a secret for obvious reasons.

Gary circled September 29, 1974 in his date book in bold red marker. He dared not write anything else, for fear of jinxing it. That night, in the chill of the garage he rented from his landlord, under sepulchral fluorescents, the turntable-sized machine clicked and hummed on the workbench.

Dark and windowless, the closet still felt comforting, tucked away on the third floor, so well obscured that Hazel had barely found it herself. Not a soul could find her here, and the thick plaster walls and heavy woodwork that had made her feel imprisoned in their new home now blessedly muffled the wrath of this mad storm.

John lightly held the reins with his left hand while Betsy snuggled under his right arm. They were worn ragged after losing Johnny. Weighing flour, oats, and tea at the grocery brought her some distraction. John had not found peace. His agitation flared when she convinced him to attend this tomfoolery.

ABH Conversation: Martha Meyer, Evanston Public Library library assistant and Blueberry Award Founder and Committee Leader

Recently, Evanston Public Library announced that Kate Gardner’s How to Find a Fox is the first winner of the newly minted Blueberry Award.

For this ABH Conversation, Jamie Lou Thome talked with international book artist and curator Maria Pisano.

Maria G. Pisano is a book artist, printmaker, curator and educator. Her oeuvre is published under the Memory Press imprint.

I first encountered Jessi Zabarsky's work when she tabled at the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo many years ago. I WANT TO EAT EVERYTHING said the cover, above a cartoon bunny flung over a pile of fruits and vegetables and pastries and—I had to buy it.

As a children’s librarian who loves discovering exciting and cinematic picture books, I am a major fan of the brilliant Terry and Eric Fan (aka The Fan Brothers), who live in Toronto, Canada.

For this ABH Conversation, Jamie Lou Thome talked with Brandon Graham about writing, making art, raising children, and life in general.

In this ABH Tutorial, Sarah Noreen demonstrates how to marble paper.

Sarah Noreen grew up in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and had traveled to eleven different countries by the time she was twelve. Inspired by travel, she is drawn to designs and patterns that are striking, exotic, traditional as well as modern. Some may have cultural significance, others merely beautiful.

On December 10th, 2020, we spoke with artist and author Riva Lehrer! 

Karen Bonner’s debut novel, Witching Moon, is magical tale of healers and mysterious immortals living just the other side of our awareness. Karen created this magical space while working full time as an anesthetist in Atlanta, Georgia.

I have worked as a Children’s Librarian at the Evanston Public Library now for nearly 20 years. I find many aspects of my job rewarding, and one of the things I most enjoy is discovering great new picture books. I also love discussing picture books with patrons and co-workers.