"Scream Queen offers a panoply of stories that explore the extremes and subtleties of life, death, and nearly every state of being in between. The inescapable fact of loss features prominently, but never without Griffin’s insistence on reprieves to be found in love, humor, companionship, mystery and, for the reader, storytelling and language itself."
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—Wendy Rawlings
"In Scream Queen, Jeremy Griffin’s latest collection of short stories, we find characters fighting their way onto and off of the fringe. Be it a museum docent whose son is doing hard time, a town under siege by an insatiable alligator, or the titular scream queen, grappling with her fading and bizarre fame, Griffin is able to pinpoint their most intricate and exhilarating desires, what defines and motivates them as they navigate their corruptions. Facing their mortalities, his characters feel all their more real, their desperation so genuine, so familiar, so intoxicating."
—Michael Czyzniejewski
"A veterinarian with Huntington’s, the mother of a convicted sex offender, a Catholic priest haunted by his sister’s senseless murder: people from all walks of life collide—sometimes literally—in Griffin’s gripping, grief-soaked stories. It’s been a while since I’ve read a collection that digs this deep or offers such empathy for what Frank O’Connor called “the outlawed figures” living on the fringes. The story “Solve” alone is worth the price of admission. At a time when hipster weirdness often masquerades as invention, Griffin shows us what true imagination can do."
—Eric Puchner
"The stories in Oceanography are peregrinations into unmapped territory: the survival of innocence. An elderly man who has outlived his wife seeks solace in building bird-feeders while noting the “surprising strength of his heart.” A failing businessman prays to a photograph of his grandsons on the beach, an adolescent girl begins to comprehend the consequences of her attraction to an older boy, and the survivors of a school shooting reconsider their homicidal classmate. This beautiful collection is distinguished by unvarnished honesty, depth of compassion, and an uncanny awareness of that liminal region between our knowledge of what is irretrievable and our hope for deliverance."
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—Lan Samantha Chang, judge of the 2018 Orison Fiction Prize
"I’ve just finished reading Jeremy Griffin’s exhilarating collection Oceanography, and now I need to catch my breath and recover. Then I’m going to read it again. The title story alone is worth the price of admission. Brianna Copland’s desperate love will haunt your dreams and your days. The prose in these propulsive and unsettling stories is luminous and incandescent; the characters are riveting; the themes, complex and resonant. Jeremy Griffin is one savvy, lyrical, and fearless writer."
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—John Dufresne
"A couple of days ago, I sat down with Jeremy Griffin’s collection Oceanography, to see if the stories could capture my interest. I think I first came up for air about 75 pages later. I did not previously know this young writer’s work, but suffice it to say that until I breathe my last, he will remain on my reading list. I almost never feel such enthusiasm for a book of stories. Every single one of them immediately engaged me and kept me engaged all the way to the end. There is so much life in these pages, so much genuine empathy for so many memorable people—I say 'people' rather than “characters,” because they became so real for me. Griffin is one hell of a writer."
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—Steve Yarbrough
"Jeremy Griffin writes, with great compassion and elegance, about people struggling to find their place in a world of hurt. His stories are borne along by sharp prose, a shimmering humanity, and the relentless pursuit of hope."
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—Steve Almond
"Griffin writes stories full of insight and compassion, wise to our universal foolishness and sympathetic to our yearnings. Here's a new young writer who's as entertaining as he is smart and insightful. 'A Last Resort for Desperate People' is a delight and a wonder."
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—Ed Falco
"The characters... have all been given just a little bit more than they can handle--whether it's a swinger's club in the neighborhood or a telekinetic child in the family. In these smart, funny, engaging stories, their voices leap right off the page and into your heart. This is a rich and memorable collection."
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—Alix Ohlin