WhiskeyPaper

23/01/2018

WP is on hiatus but we have the loveliest archives and years and years and years of beautiful stories!

WHISKEYPAPER. Drink Words.

20/12/2017

Join WP editor Leesa Cross-Smith @ the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville in March! Dig the list of speakers!

20/12/2017

HI BOOKSELLERS! If you'd prettyplease consider nominating WHISKEY & RIBBONS by WP editor Leesa Cross-Smith for the INDIE NEXT List on Edelweiss? (Under "Review" there's a pulldown for INDIE NEXT!) And pls do pass along if you don't mind sharing this w/a bookseller you love! THANK YOU! https://www.edelweiss.plus/ =193823538X&page=1

Edelweiss+, by Above the Treeline, is the book industry’s platform to sell, discover, and order new titles. Work better, read more.

16/12/2017

Dig this lovely review of WHISKEY & RIBBONS by WP editor Leesa Cross-Smith over @ The Englewood Review of Books !

"Whiskey & Ribbons, Leesa Cross-Smith’s first novel, is a love story folded inside of a love story. It is a novel about grief, about family, about how we hold one another together when everything falls apart."

The Mundane, Vital Details of Life A Review of Whiskey & Ribbons: A Novel Leesa Cross-Smith Hardback: Hub City Press, 2017 Buy Now: [ ] Reviewed by Meghan Florian Whiskey & Ribbons, Leesa Cross-Smith’s first novel, is a love story folded inside of a love st

30/11/2017

WP IS ON HIATUS! DO DIG THE ARCHIVES! xo http://www.whiskeypaper.com/archives/

24/11/2017

NEW STORY POSTED: "Back at the trailhead, not three hours ago, I was an atheist. Now I can’t stop—the cactus is the cross, the jack rabbit an acolyte."_RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE by Paul Luikart. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/whiskeypaper/religious-experience-by-paul-luikart

The saguaro is a crucifix with no Jesus pinned to it, a great, green, gummy thing with arms wide open. ‘Come unto me.’ Like how the actual Jesus might actually say it. Do I dare wrap my arms around a cactus though, even one that looks like God at His ever-loving best? I’m counting on whatever quick-

21/11/2017

WP editor Leesa Cross-Smith writes abt Sturgill Simpson in the Kentucky Music issue of The Oxford American magazine available on newsstands today!

A Points South essay from our Winter 2017 Music Issue featuring Kentucky.

17/11/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "French fry soup was a ridiculous thing and French fry soup night was a sad occasion. If any one of them, anyone besides Amir, considered the pitifulness of collecting hard and uneaten fries throughout the week only to be thrown in a pot with various vegetables and a broth reminiscent of chicken pot pie, they wouldn’t do it anymore. Maybe instead, they’d go to that nice Ethiopian restaurant nearby or to some place Greek. He could enjoy a nice moussaka."_FRENCH FRY SOUP by DeMisty Philosopiae http://www.whiskeypaper.com/whiskeypaper/french-fry-soup-by-demisty-d-bellinger

On Tuesday nights, the Abduls had French fry soup with the Jeffersons. They’ve done this for over a year. Their first Tuesday night there in the subdivision’s newly-built monster mansions, the Abduls only had leftover fried chicken and the Jeffersons only had leftover French fries and frozen vegetab

15/11/2017

CONGRATS to our The Best Small Fictions 2018 nominees/nominations! Good lucksies, kittens!

10/11/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "On three different mornings, the hiker bathed in a creek alongside a young buck, who warned of crotchety bears and complained about his own lack of education. The hiker twice asked porcupines for directions, but both attempts seemed to carve his path deeper into the wild. The problem was finding home; the problem was food. He dreamed of potato chips and ate acorns."_IN THE FOREST, A CONVERSATION by BEN WOODARD. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/in-the-forest-a-conversation-by-ben-woodard

The hiker had been lost in the wilderness for five days when the animals began to talk. He wasn’t sure if this was due to his faded suburban scent, or if they simply decided he was now part of their world and could be trusted with their secrets. Skyward chirps transformed into arguments and gossip;

07/11/2017

WP editors in the wild! Over The Rumpus Leesa Cross-Smith writes TO LOOK FOR AMERICA: A ROAD TRIP, A SOUNDTRACK. http://therumpus.net/2017/11/to-look-for-america-a-roadtrip-a-soundtrack/

03/11/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "All the girls love you, but they’re too good for fatherless boys, wearing shoes that pinch to school dances, limping back and forth with their arms around respectable classmates. They apply their lipstick for you, write your name in toilet stalls, dream you in the back seat of their respectable boyfriends’ cars, imagine your skin pressed against their own, sigh your name to each other in whispered conversations."_THIS PLACE WILL NEVER KEEP YOU by CATHY ULRICH. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/this-place-will-never-keep-you-by-cathy-ulrich

Your mother has always said there’s bad things in the woods. That’s why your father left her, you say, she was always saying crazy things like that. You’ve never been afraid of anything, and you laugh at me for hesitating before you pull me into the woods after you. We’re the baddest thi

27/10/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "Our kitchen is Budapest. Our kitchen is Mexico City and I lick splatters of achiote paste from Astrid’s downy cheek and we drink mezcal with sliced oranges. She hands me hot, steaming dishes and I dry them with towels made from old flour sacks."_OUR KITCHEN by ANDREA EBERLY. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/our-kitchen-by-andrea-eberly

Just as summer ends, Astrid moves in with me. That apartment is carved out of a hulking, gabled house in the Central District. We don’t have enough money, but eating is necessary and necessary doesn’t have to mean no fun. So we travel the world. At the library we checkout glossy-paged cookb

20/10/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "Sean was also far better equipped for baseball. He was precociously tall, broad-shouldered, and long-legged. He could run faster, throw harder, and hit farther than any other kid on our team. He was the reason we won games. None of my teammates would have disputed that. Kids on other teams knew about Sean and feared him. They backed up in the outfield when he was up to bat. They trembled at the plate when he was on the mound. Players and parents alike talked openly about his talent and how he’d surely play D-1 in college and maybe even go pro."_MESSAGES IN THE DIRT by JACK SOMERS. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/messages-in-the-dirt-by-jack-somers

Sean and I used to write messages to each other during baseball practice. We wrote with our fingers in the dirt, just to the left of the first base line. When it was his turn to play first, I would write to him, and when it was my turn, he would write to me. Our messages usually took shots at

16/10/2017

YOU CAN ENTER TO WIN! An early copy of WHISKEY & RIBBONS by WP editor Leesa Cross-Smith over @ Goodreads! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/258988-whiskey-ribbons

Enter to win one of 5 free copies available. Giveaway dates from Oct 16-Nov 06, 2017. WIN A FREE EARLY COPY OF WHISKEY & RIBBONS!Set within a contempor...

13/10/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "I stopped going to Alesia’s house after I saw the picture of Rogue hanging over her fireplace. It was spooky—my same protruding jaw and caterpillar eyebrows, same nostrils shaped like jellybeans. I asked Alesia if she saw it, too—if she thought it was weird, or if what we were doing together was hillbilly gross, but she just stuck her hand over my mouth. Shush."_SAVE US FROM EXTINCTION by MICHELE JOHNSON. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/whiskeypaper/save-us-from-extinction-by-michele-johnson

The pillar stands in the middle of town square, a monument to dead soldiers. I sit beneath it and wait for Alesia, staring at the huge plaque of names. Alesia is late. Probably had to lie to her dad, say she was meeting Hannah or Katie at the mall. Her dick dad has it in for me. He hasn’t sa

06/10/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "We made small talk with the revolving set of passengers who sat opposite, until night fell and the carriage cleared out so we could curl up across from each other like fireside cats. Outside, a glorious full moon admired its reflection in the watery mirrors of rice paddies. The shimmering humidity gave way to evening chill, and we discovered the windows would not close, that we were stuck with the dampness that formed a filmy layer underneath our skin. The scheduled time of arrival came and went and we were nowhere near our destination, at least as far as we could make out in the uninterrupted darkness."_LET THE SOFT ANIMAL OF YOUR BODY LOVE WHAT IT LOVES by NINA SUDHAKAR. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/let-the-soft-animal-of-your-body-love-what-it-loves-by-nina-sudhakar

It wasn’t your surprising memory for my tastes. That I loved that particular iced tea, served neon orange in small plastic bags with enough sweetened condensed milk to provoke teeth to rot. It wasn’t that you quickly sleuthed out the hunger beneath my crankiness—the mixed-up manifestation of

30/09/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "Bobby's blue eyes wooed her at a school car wash. She melted in the promise of his ardor as he used old T-shirts to wipe down windshields.

Cameron's hair had her twisted around its curls. When she ran her hands over his wet head in the college rec-center's pool, he told her he uses baby oil; made her a believer.

Jose's sparkling teeth shone bright in the dark; she used them like lights to find her way to him. She converted to his brand of toothpaste, ShineOn."_ART PROJECT by SUDHA BALAGOPAL. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/art-project-by-sudha-balagopal

The placement of assorted photos doesn't look right. Juhi puffs her cheeks, blows hard and pictures float and scatter—some on the coffee table, others on the floor. She surveys the strewn jetsam of her fledgling effort at a collage. Art has never been her calling. Her neighbor-friend an

30/09/2017

29/09/2017

WP editor Leesa Cross-Smith writes her new column called BRIGHT BUTTERFLY over @ WhiskeyPaper ! A little bit abt something she loves!

"I was writing abt something else going up later, but @ the end I wrote...My celeb crushes and movie/TV obsessions seem to find me, truly. I can't really explain where they come from or what/who will be next. I just know I've always been like this. I feel a bit like a kitten with a butterfly about these sorts of things. There I am, minding my business and here comes a flittery-fluttery bright butterfly, landing on my nose."

This time it's THE WINE SHOW.

22/09/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "We keep the contract in a glass dust-proof case in the dining room, right across from the window that receives the most natural light in the house, which shines brightly on our written agreement. On some days it rains and we don’t receive any sun and the lack of serotonin makes us want to sit in our rooms separately where we both feel glum. You handle it well, I do not. You make popcorn on these gloomy days and bring me a bowl. Now when it rains, I instinctively smell kernels popping."_THE CONTRACT by TUCKER LEIGHTY-PHILLIPS http://www.whiskeypaper.com/the-contract-by-tucker-leighty-phillips

We have a mutually-agreed upon contract which indicates that if one of us dies, the other must feel very sad. For the most part, we adhere to the terms and conditions of the aforementioned deal, but naturally there are the necessary restrictions and exit clauses. For example, if one of us were

15/09/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "Simon Scotch tapes his painting to the igloo gallery’s last remaining wall space, next to a bas relief of Simon and Buzz Aldrin sharing powdered-sugar-topped funnel cake under the Boardwalk in Atlantic City. Simon takes a step back to get a better view of his work. His flaxen mop is golden in the waning sunlight. Happenstance glows like earthshine."_SIMON HANGS A FINGERPAINTING WHILE HAPPENSTANCE GLOWS LIKE EARTHSHINE by PAT FORAN http://www.whiskeypaper.com/simon-hangs-a-fingerpainting-while-happenstance-glows-like-earthshine-by-pat-foran

Happenstance sits up straight, paw over paw, on a hammock that hangs between two lemon trees. A white and tan-patched Jack Russell with a thistle nose, Happenstance is an expressionist in space, panting, gently, and swaying, gently, in the Atlantic sea breeze. She’s slow jamming to the tinny

08/09/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "You have tried to solve the problem by more comfortable means. You liked your wife’s status bemoaning the cabinet door on social media. You even agreed to make a photo of the door your temporary profile pic. But here you are, holding this guide. So, make your way to the local hardware store with a mind willing to learn, a heart eager to avoid another row, and a hand holding a billiard ball."_A MODERN MAN'S GUIDE TO FIXING A CABINET DOOR by P.J. KRFKO. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/a-modern-mans-guide-to-fixing-a-cabinet-door-by-pj-kryfko

Part I. Introduction: There comes a time in every modern man’s life when he must fix a cabinet door. If you find this a confusing time, don't worry, you're not alone. After all, the door still opens and shuts as it is bidden. The minor wobble in its arc has caused you no harm nor need for c

01/09/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "I wait in the baggage claim area. He comes down the escalator from the arrivals hall. He does not walk. He sails. He listens to his iPod, moving his head to a beat, and I wonder who is singing to him. Everyone thinks he likes super cool underground music but his secret favorite song is K.D. Lang’s 'Constant Craving.'"_MICHAEL STIPE KNOWS EVERYTHING by MELISSA GOODE. http://whiskeypaper.com/michael-stipe-knows-everything-by-melissa-goode

The car does not start this morning so I call an Uber to take me to the airport. The driver is young. It feels like I am getting into my little brother’s car, except it is spotless and smells of pine. “Please take off your raincoat in the car,” the driver says. I take it off and don’t bot

25/08/2017

FEATURED STORY OF THE WEEK: "She puts on a full mask of makeup, matches the color of her pumps to her mother’s voile scarf from Paris, and practices crying in front of the mirror (in case she’s given red roses). She then reapplies the makeup."_CLASSIC WOMAN by CLAIRE POLDERS. http://www.whiskeypaper.com/classic-woman-by-claire-polders

Maya turns thirty-eight today. Time for her to experience what being a classic woman is all about. Breathe life into the stereotype. She puts on a full mask of makeup, matches the color of her pumps to her mother’s voile scarf from Paris, and practices crying in front of the mirror (in cas