For anyone who read and obsessed over Emily Ruskovich's 2017 debut novel, IDAHO (if you haven't read it yet, what are you waiting for?!), it will come as no surprise that NIGHTJAR, her newly-released collection of short stories, is astonishingly great. This collection reads more like a series of novellas, the Mid/Pacific Northwest worlds Ruskovich builds in each are as immersive and evocative as what you might find in longer works of fiction. Throughout, Ruskovich marries a stunning vision of the natural world with dark pockets of humanity. Each story balances on a line of exquisite tension; when the revelation comes, it's so perfect and sharp it cuts like an unfurling switchblade.
Emily Ruskovich: I cannot wait to read what you write next...