Books by Kathryn Scanlan
Aug 9 - Fog
"The searing strokes of this book remind me of the infinitude inside every life." --Leslie Jamison
Paris Review Staff Pick, one of Chicago Tribune's 25 Hot Books of Summer, and one of The A.V. Club's 15 Most Anticipated Books of 2019
A stark, elegiac account of unexpected pleasures and the progress of seasons
Fifteen years ago, Kathryn Scanlan found a stranger’s five-year diary at an estate auction in a small town in Illinois. The owner of the diary was eighty-six years old when she began recording the details of her life in the small book, a gift from her daughter and son-in-law. The diary was falling apart―water-stained and illegible in places―but magnetic to Scanlan nonetheless.
After reading and rereading the diary, studying and dissecting it, for the next fifteen years she played with the sentences that caught her attention, cutting, editing, arranging, and rearranging them into the composition that became Aug 9―Fog (she chose the title from a note that was tucked into the diary). “Sure grand out,” the diarist writes. “That puzzle a humdinger,” she says, followed by, “A letter from Lloyd saying John died the 16th.” An entire state of mourning reveals itself in “2 canned hams.” The result of Scanlan’s collaging is an utterly compelling, deeply moving meditation on life and death.
In Aug 9―Fog, Scanlan’s spare, minimalist approach has a maximal emotional effect, remaining with the reader long after the book ends. It is an unclassifiable work from a visionary young writer and artist―a singular portrait of a life revealed by revision and restraint.
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The Dominant Animal: Stories
Named a Best Book of 2020 by The Guardian, Southwest Review, and Publishers Weekly
"[The stories] are short, but their mood and imagery are lasting, and reflective of brutal truths of the commerce of human civilization . . . chilling, finely tuned pieces on power and survival." --Los Angeles Times
A collection of innovative and ambitious short stories from a visionary young literary artist
In The Dominant Animal―Kathryn Scanlan’s adventurous, unsettling debut collection―compression is key. Sentences have been relentlessly trimmed, tuned, and teased for maximum impact, and a ferocious attention to rhythm and sound results in a palpable pulse of excitability and distress. The nature of love is questioned at a golf course, a flower shop, an all-you-can-eat buffet. The clay head of a man is bought and displayed as a trophy. Interior life manifests on the physical plane, where characters―human and animal―eat and breathe, provoke and injure one another.
With exquisite control, Scanlan moves from expansive moods and fine afternoons to unease and violence―and also from deliberate and generative ambiguity to shocking, revelatory exactitude. Disturbances accrue as the collection progresses. How often the conclusions open―rather than tie―up. How they twist alertly. No mercy, a character says―and these stories are merciless and strange and absolutely masterful.
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Kick the Latch
About one woman’s fine, hard life at the racetrack, Kick the Latch–with its ruthless concision and artful mysteries–is lightning in a bottle Kathryn Scanlan’s Kick the Latch vividly captures the arc of one woman’s life at the racetrack―the flat land and ramshackle backstretch; the bad feelings and friction; the winner’s circle and the racetrack bar; the fancy suits and fancy boots; and the “particular language” of “grooms, jockeys, trainers, racing secretaries, stewards, pony people, hotwalkers, everybody”―with economy and integrity.
Based on transcribed interviews with Sonia, a horse trainer, the novel investigates form and authenticity in a feat of synthesis reminiscent of Charles Reznikoff’s Testimony. As Scanlan puts it, “I wanted to preserve―amplify, exaggerate―Sonia’s idiosyncratic speech, her bluntness, her flair as a storyteller. I arrived at what you could call a composite portrait of a self.” Whittled down with a fiercely singular artistry, Kick the Latch bangs out of the starting gate and carries the reader on a careening joyride around the inside track.
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$17.95
Pets
by Ann Beattie, DK Publishing, Blake Butler, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Christine Schutt, Tao Lin, Kathryn Scanlan, Sarah Manguso, Francesca Ferri, Sam Pink, Scott McClanahan, David Nutt, Mark Leidner, Annie DeWitt, Chelsea Hodson, Kristen Iskandrian, Nicolette Polek, Yuka Igarashi, Raegan Bird, Ryan C. K. Choi, Clune,Michael W., Patty Yumi Cottrell, Precious Okoyomon, Mallory Whitten
Puppies, kittens, hamsters, and goldfish are some of the pets that delight children. They�re all here in this warm and wonderful padded cloth book for baby, which comes in a clear plastic case with carrying handle. (Ages Infant�3)
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Pets
by Ann Beattie, DK Publishing, Blake Butler, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Christine Schutt, Tao Lin, Kathryn Scanlan, Sarah Manguso, Francesca Ferri, Sam Pink, Scott McClanahan, David Nutt, Mark Leidner, Annie DeWitt, Chelsea Hodson, Kristen Iskandrian, Nicolette Polek, Yuka Igarashi, Raegan Bird, Ryan C. K. Choi, Clune,Michael W., Patty Yumi Cottrell, Precious Okoyomon, Mallory Whitten
In Touch and Feel Pets, children will learn about their favorite pets through an engaging textured format, as they pet the silky dog, meet the whiskery cat, examine the glistening gold fish, and more. A sparkly irresistible jacket encourages toddlers to pick the book up, the bright bold interior pages help them develop object recognition, and the descriptive text builds their language skills — making this a favorite for both parents and children.
With a sparkling new look, these bestselling DK classics are sure to become favorites for a whole new generation of young readers. Babies and toddlers will be drawn to the captivating, tactile pages, and will want to touch, feel and explore every spread.
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Pets
by Ann Beattie, DK Publishing, Blake Butler, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Christine Schutt, Tao Lin, Kathryn Scanlan, Sarah Manguso, Francesca Ferri, Sam Pink, Scott McClanahan, David Nutt, Mark Leidner, Annie DeWitt, Chelsea Hodson, Kristen Iskandrian, Nicolette Polek, Yuka Igarashi, Raegan Bird, Ryan C. K. Choi, Clune,Michael W., Patty Yumi Cottrell, Precious Okoyomon, Mallory Whitten
This anthology collects original writing and art by novelists, poets, and academics about their pets, including a killer chihuahua, a catatonic toy poodle, a contraband cat, a backyard full of endangered desert tortoises, five forgotten parakeets, and a skinny ex-racehorse named Joe. From legends like Ann Beattie and Christine Schutt to cult figures like Scott McClanahan and Tao Lin, this anthology collects writing from some of today’s best literary talent. Edited by Jordan Castro with contributions by Ryunosuke Akutagawa, Ann Beattie, Raegan Bird, Blake Butler, Ryan C. K. Choi, Michael W. Clune, Patty Yumi Cottrell, Annie DeWitt, Chelsea Hodson, Yuka Igarashi, Kristen Iskandrian, Mark Leidner, Tao Lin, Scott McClanahan, Sarah Manguso, David Nutt, Precious Okoyomon, Sam Pink, Nicolette Polek, Kathryn Scanlan, Christine Schutt, and Mallory Whitten.
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