Join us on Tuesday, June 11 at 7pm PT for the launch of Zach Williams' story collection, Beautiful Days, with Kate Folk at 9th Ave!
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for Beautiful Days
"Beautiful Days is a remarkable collection. These stories are full of irony and absurdity, but are never sleight, glib or waggish. Zach Williams paints us into every story with quick, deft strokes and then unfolds, with a scarily confident hand, the rest of the canvas, full of surprises and truths and stuff we never imagined." --Percival Everett, Booker Prize finalist and author of James
"Beautiful Days brings a reader though strange and grounded lands on just the other side of reality. You will come through changed, shaken, thoughtful, and totally amazed." --Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
"[Zach Williams's] beautiful, disquieting stories are profound in the true meaning of that word--they go deep. He's a major talent...an exciting debut." --Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears, Red Pill and Blue Ruin
About Beautiful Days
From New Yorker and Paris Review contributor Zach Williams comes a striking and savage debut story collection that confronts parenthood, mortality, and life's broken promises.
A couple awakens in a home in the woods to find themselves rapidly aging as their toddler remains unchanged. A work-worn employee navigates conspiracy theories and the threat of violence in an abandoned office. A tour guide leads a troublesome group to an ancient structure, apparently nonhuman in origin, discovering along the way that the most mysterious creatures of all are right beside him.
These ten stories show the fallibility of time and how reality reveals itself behind the gauze of a dream--or a nightmare. Throughout, Williams illustrates how quickly we come to the edges of our patience and endurance, the hidden damages lurking in the shadows of the everyday, the distances we must travel to protect our families, and the tenuousness of even our deepest relationships. Williams sees the perversity in the mundane and dares readers to confront the power--and beauty--of time's relentless movement.
With exquisite prose and a lacerating wit, Beautiful Days holds a mirror to the many absurdities of being human and refuses to let us look away.
About Zach Williams
Zach Williams is a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford University, where he previously held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. His story "Trial Run" was one of three that won The Paris Review a 2023 ASME Award for Fiction. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he currently resides with his family in San Francisco.
About Kate Folk
Kate Folk is the author of Out There, a finalist for the California Book Award in First Fiction. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, and The Baffler, among others. A recent Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she's also received support for her writing from MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and Willapa Bay AiR. Her debut novel, Sky Daddy, is forthcoming from Random House in 2025. Originally from Iowa, she lives in San Francisco.
show less
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for Beautiful Days
"Beautiful Days is a remarkable collection. These stories are full of irony and absurdity, but are never sleight, glib or waggish. Zach Williams paints us into every story with quick, deft strokes and then unfolds, with a scarily confident hand, the rest of the canvas, full of surprises and truths and stuff we never imagined." --Percival Everett, Booker Prize finalist and author of James
"Beautiful Days brings a reader though strange and grounded lands on just the other side of reality. You will come through changed, shaken, thoughtful, and totally amazed." --Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
"[Zach Williams's] beautiful, disquieting stories are profound in the true meaning of that word--they go deep. He's a major talent...an exciting debut." --Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears, Red Pill and Blue Ruin
About Beautiful Days
From New Yorker and Paris Review contributor Zach Williams comes a striking and savage debut story collection that confronts parenthood, mortality, and life's broken promises.
A couple awakens in a home in the woods to find themselves rapidly aging as their toddler remains unchanged. A work-worn employee navigates conspiracy theories and the threat of violence in an abandoned office. A tour guide leads a troublesome group to an ancient structure, apparently nonhuman in origin, discovering along the way that the most mysterious creatures of all are right beside him.
These ten stories show the fallibility of time and how reality reveals itself behind the gauze of a dream--or a nightmare. Throughout, Williams illustrates how quickly we come to the edges of our patience and endurance, the hidden damages lurking in the shadows of the everyday, the distances we must travel to protect our families, and the tenuousness of even our deepest relationships. Williams sees the perversity in the mundane and dares readers to confront the power--and beauty--of time's relentless movement.
With exquisite prose and a lacerating wit, Beautiful Days holds a mirror to the many absurdities of being human and refuses to let us look away.
About Zach Williams
Zach Williams is a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford University, where he previously held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. His story "Trial Run" was one of three that won The Paris Review a 2023 ASME Award for Fiction. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he currently resides with his family in San Francisco.
About Kate Folk
Kate Folk is the author of Out There, a finalist for the California Book Award in First Fiction. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, and The Baffler, among others. A recent Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she's also received support for her writing from MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and Willapa Bay AiR. Her debut novel, Sky Daddy, is forthcoming from Random House in 2025. Originally from Iowa, she lives in San Francisco.
Join us on Tuesday, June 11 at 7pm PT for the launch of Zach Williams' story collection, Beautiful Days, with Kate Folk at 9th Ave!
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for Beautiful Days
"Beautiful Days is a remarkable collection. These stories are full of irony and absurdity, but are never sleight, glib or waggish. Zach Williams paints us into every story with quick, deft strokes and then unfolds, with a scarily confident hand, the rest of the canvas, full of surprises and truths and stuff we never imagined." --Percival Everett, Booker Prize finalist and author of James
"Beautiful Days brings a reader though strange and grounded lands on just the other side of reality. You will come through changed, shaken, thoughtful, and totally amazed." --Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
"[Zach Williams's] beautiful, disquieting stories are profound in the true meaning of that word--they go deep. He's a major talent...an exciting debut." --Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears, Red Pill and Blue Ruin
About Beautiful Days
From New Yorker and Paris Review contributor Zach Williams comes a striking and savage debut story collection that confronts parenthood, mortality, and life's broken promises.
A couple awakens in a home in the woods to find themselves rapidly aging as their toddler remains unchanged. A work-worn employee navigates conspiracy theories and the threat of violence in an abandoned office. A tour guide leads a troublesome group to an ancient structure, apparently nonhuman in origin, discovering along the way that the most mysterious creatures of all are right beside him.
These ten stories show the fallibility of time and how reality reveals itself behind the gauze of a dream--or a nightmare. Throughout, Williams illustrates how quickly we come to the edges of our patience and endurance, the hidden damages lurking in the shadows of the everyday, the distances we must travel to protect our families, and the tenuousness of even our deepest relationships. Williams sees the perversity in the mundane and dares readers to confront the power--and beauty--of time's relentless movement.
With exquisite prose and a lacerating wit, Beautiful Days holds a mirror to the many absurdities of being human and refuses to let us look away.
About Zach Williams
Zach Williams is a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford University, where he previously held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. His story "Trial Run" was one of three that won The Paris Review a 2023 ASME Award for Fiction. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he currently resides with his family in San Francisco.
About Kate Folk
Kate Folk is the author of Out There, a finalist for the California Book Award in First Fiction. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, and The Baffler, among others. A recent Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she's also received support for her writing from MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and Willapa Bay AiR. Her debut novel, Sky Daddy, is forthcoming from Random House in 2025. Originally from Iowa, she lives in San Francisco.
read more
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for Beautiful Days
"Beautiful Days is a remarkable collection. These stories are full of irony and absurdity, but are never sleight, glib or waggish. Zach Williams paints us into every story with quick, deft strokes and then unfolds, with a scarily confident hand, the rest of the canvas, full of surprises and truths and stuff we never imagined." --Percival Everett, Booker Prize finalist and author of James
"Beautiful Days brings a reader though strange and grounded lands on just the other side of reality. You will come through changed, shaken, thoughtful, and totally amazed." --Samantha Hunt, author of The Unwritten Book
"[Zach Williams's] beautiful, disquieting stories are profound in the true meaning of that word--they go deep. He's a major talent...an exciting debut." --Hari Kunzru, author of White Tears, Red Pill and Blue Ruin
About Beautiful Days
From New Yorker and Paris Review contributor Zach Williams comes a striking and savage debut story collection that confronts parenthood, mortality, and life's broken promises.
A couple awakens in a home in the woods to find themselves rapidly aging as their toddler remains unchanged. A work-worn employee navigates conspiracy theories and the threat of violence in an abandoned office. A tour guide leads a troublesome group to an ancient structure, apparently nonhuman in origin, discovering along the way that the most mysterious creatures of all are right beside him.
These ten stories show the fallibility of time and how reality reveals itself behind the gauze of a dream--or a nightmare. Throughout, Williams illustrates how quickly we come to the edges of our patience and endurance, the hidden damages lurking in the shadows of the everyday, the distances we must travel to protect our families, and the tenuousness of even our deepest relationships. Williams sees the perversity in the mundane and dares readers to confront the power--and beauty--of time's relentless movement.
With exquisite prose and a lacerating wit, Beautiful Days holds a mirror to the many absurdities of being human and refuses to let us look away.
About Zach Williams
Zach Williams is a Jones Lecturer in Fiction at Stanford University, where he previously held a Wallace Stegner Fellowship. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. His story "Trial Run" was one of three that won The Paris Review a 2023 ASME Award for Fiction. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, he currently resides with his family in San Francisco.
About Kate Folk
Kate Folk is the author of Out There, a finalist for the California Book Award in First Fiction. Her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, Granta, and The Baffler, among others. A recent Stegner Fellow at Stanford University, she's also received support for her writing from MacDowell, the Headlands Center for the Arts, and Willapa Bay AiR. Her debut novel, Sky Daddy, is forthcoming from Random House in 2025. Originally from Iowa, she lives in San Francisco.
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