[caption id="attachment_957" align="alignleft" width="227" caption="Anne Germanacos. BOA fiction author."][/caption] In April 2007, BOA started publishing literary fiction through our American Reader Series. Our goal was to seek out and publish fiction that it is as singular and powerful as our poetry. Fiction written by authors more concerned with the artfulness of their writing than the twists and turns of plot . Fiction that is not only compelling to read, but also artistically excellent. Although we didn't consciously decide to focus on authors who hadn't previously published story collections, it makes sense that they are the lifeblood of the series. While we have no data to support this hypothesis, it seems that there are now more places to publish poetry than non-mainstream fiction. As a publisher dedicated to publishing the best contemporary literature, we believed it was time for BOA to recognize and respond to the need to support dynamic fiction writers who are taking chances with language, style, and narrative. Of the 8 books we have published and have forthcoming, 7 of them are by first-time fiction authors:  [I Carry A Hammer In My Pocket For Occasions Such As These] by Anthony Tognazzini [Unlucky Lucky Days] by Daniel Grandbois [Glass Grapes and Other Stories] by Martha Ronk [Meat Eaters and Plant Eaters] by Jessica Treat (not a first book...just a great one) [On the Winding Stair] by Joanna Howard [Cradle Book: Stories & Fables] by Craig Morgan Teicher [In the Time of the Girls] by Anne Germanacos (forthcoming Oct. 2010) This New and Poisonous Air by Adam McOmber (forthcoming spring 2011) We hope you'll check out BOA's growing backlist of innovative first books of fiction. Our next fiction title (now available for pre-order) is [In the Time of the Girls] by Anne Germanacos - another first-time author. Here are a few bits and pieces to give you a sense of this amazing debut. Interestingly enough, these "teasers" parallel the style of the stories themselves.   About In the Time of the Girls: These stories navigate turbulent waters from American shores, Aegean islands, and both sides of the Bosphorus. There’s a new version of the Adam and Eve story as well as a contemporary take on Ovid’s songs. A woman with a birthmark in the shape of a map has a penchant for risky travel. A contemporary Oedipus, living with his mother in a house full of cats, is cured of his blindness. A treatise on monsters. A Bulgarian migrant cleaning woman whose gold teeth turn silver. Odysseus and Penelope contemplate the Trojan War of a long marriage from both sides of the Golden Horn. A herd of goats gnaw on notepads stolen from a NYC hotel. An argument with caffeine. Obnoxious peacocks, a camera that records a sheep slaughter. A man called Adam paints scenes on his Eva's back. Tourists stuff their bags with fiery food in an attempt to imbibe the land. Lost empires are contemplated and mourned, a young woman starves herself while trying to follow her father toward sainthood. Lightning strikes, minds are lost to disease, new languages are invented. An anthropologist communicates with an icon of the Virgin Mary. Perfect, stillborn lambs are buried beneath an olive tree. A girl named Hera buys junk food, another named Artemis drinks soy milk; both eat ice cream called "Nirvana."