Edited by Amie M. Evans & Paul J. Willis 

QueerMojo Imprint 
Paperback, 5.5" x 8.5 ", 250 pages, $16.95

Saints and Sinners 2010: New Fiction from the Festival contains a mixture of short fiction representing many genres and styles as well as a diverse number of themes and experiences. It was truly a difficult task for the judges to select a winner and two runner-ups from over a 100 entries. The completely-blind, three-tier judging process that was used yield what we think is a wonderful set of stories. The finalists for our first annual short fiction contest were Danny Bracco, Nathan Burgoine, Emily M. Danforth, James Driggers, Jack Fritscher, Wayne Lee Gay, William Holden, James Nolan, Steve Scott and Shawn Syms.

There are five stories from the contest included in this volume along with works by established authors. The winning story, “Ondine” by Wayne Lee Gay (Denton, TX), is a musical tale of both longing and awakening. The two runners-ups are as different from each other as, well, as Saints & Sinners. “Dancing Pink Roses” by Danny Bracco (San Francisco, CA) is a sensual story of personal discovery—both enlightening and painful. “Jesus is My BFF” by James Driggers (Asheville, NC) weaves a complex story of intolerance, self-destruction and affirmation in an unexpected way. The two remaining finalist included are “Latins on the Loose” by James Nolan (New Orleans, LA), a witty story about the hazards of ‘shopping locally’, and “The Kid” by Steve Scott (Rancho Mirage, CA), a dark tale of a not-so-right young man.

In addition to the finalists from the First Annual Short Fiction Contest, we are honored to include stories from “Festival Favorites”—some of the best GLBT authors. We have wonderful new works from Lambda Literary Award winners Rob Byrnes, Greg Herren, and Jeff Mann. The collection also includes original fiction from award-winning authors Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Peter Dube, Aaron Hamburger, and Jess Wells. We are extremely excited to include Jewelle Gomez’s “Storyville 1910” which provides readers with a new adventure of the main character from her cult-classic 1991 Gilda Story—winner of two Lambda Literary Awards.

praise for Saints+Sinners Literary Festival

“No other city is like New Orleans, and no other writers conference is like Saints & Sinners. Where else can you bring beignets and chicory coffee from Cafe Du Monde to your morning panel on creating realistic murder scenes? Where else are you going to have crawfish ètouffee while exchanging ideas with half a dozen other writers from all around the country over lunch between sessions? Where else can you take a vampire tour after the day’s events are over? The magic of New Orleans enlivens everything about the conference, resulting in an atmosphere that recharges the creative batteries and reminds us why we love to write. I’ve been going to conferences for more than 20 years, and never have I enjoyed them as much as I do when I’m at Saints & Sinners. The conversations with other writers outside of the sessions are just as informative and inspiring as the panel discussions and workshops, and the opportunity to spend time with writers from so many different genres makes this a completely unique experience you won’t get from any other conference. When I come home from Saints and Sinners I’m always more excited about my work—and about the work of my fellow writers—than when I left, and I immediately start counting down the days to next year’s conference.” 
—Michael Thomas Ford, Jane Bites Back

“Any con that tugs a frost-covered Minnesotan away from her Swedish meatballs and plunks her in the middle of the best jazz, the most decadent cuisine, and the finest writing the LGBT community has to offer, and at the same time allows her to rub shoulders with publishers, reviewers, writers, and passionate, articulate readers, is a con to embrace. Saints & Sinners is, hands down, my favorite convention of the year. Want to know more? Read this anthology. You'll get a sense of what's in store for you in New Orleans.” 
—Ellen Hart, Five-time winner of the Lambda Literary Ward for Best Lesbian Mystery

“For eight years, the Saints and Sinners Festival has offered a welcome oasis for gay and lesbian writers from the often grueling literary world, a rare convergence of both community and creativity. Here is the proof of the success of that formula: inspiring and enriching new fiction from some of the festival's best writers, whose words dare us to think, encourage us to laugh, and recommit us to the pursuit of excellence.” 
—William J. Mann, author of Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn named one of the 100 Notable Books of the Year by The New York Times