Underrated Writers

John McManus

Mark Sarvas of The Elegant Variation recommends McManus whose debut novel, Bitter Milk, has gathered favorable attention from Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly. Sarvas also informs us that McManus is the youngest winner (in 2000, at age 22!) of the Whiting Writers' Award. McManus is also the author of two short story collections, Stop Breakin Down and Born on a Train.

More about John McManus
+  Dan Wickett's interview with McManus
+  Mary Akers's review of Bitter Milk
+  Bitter Milk review at NOHS

Lydia Millet

This author, and only one other, is doubly recommended by Mark Sarvas and Ron Hogan. Sarvas calls her "ambitious, smart and witty." Hogan recognizes that the terrific reviews her novel, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, received might make the "underrated" label "not entirely accurate," but recommends her anyway, because "she's not as famous as she ought to be." This novel is Millett's fourth. Her others include the irresistibly titled George Bush, Dark Prince of Love: A Presidential Romance and Everyone's Pretty.

More about Lydia Millet
+  Soft Skull Press's page for OPaRH, includes an excerpt from the novel
+  Sarvas's 3-Minute Interview with Millet
+  PopMatters review of OPaRH

Jim Ruland

Mark Sarvas writes that Jim Ruland's "twisted but humane debut collection, Big Lonesome, stands conventional storytelling on its head in story after fine story." Ruland is the recipient of an NEA grant and has been published in McSweeney's. Readers in Los Angeles may recognize Ruland as the host of Vermin on the Mount, a regular reading series.

More about Jim Ruland
+  Small Spiral Notebook's interview with Ruland
+  Ruland's piece for NPR on teaching a writing course aimed at veterans
+  INK POT's interview with Ruland
+  "Kessler Has No Lucky Pants" in Barcelona Review