Douglas Watson’s short story “The Messenger Who Did Not Become a Hero” was recently published in One Story, following an insightful Q&A with the author that the literary magazine published last month. The story is part of Watson's new debut fiction collection The Era of Not Quite, which will be released by BOA in May. One Story prides itself on "thorough editing," and has, admittedly, "never seen a story that could not be improved by editing.” That is, until they encountered Watson's “The Messenger Who Did Not Become a Hero.” "The day after we accepted the story, I sat down with my editorial scrub brush and went to work," says One Story's Will Allison, "—only to discover, after several reads, that I had not a single meaningful editorial suggestion to offer. Not a one." And neither did the rest of the One Story crew. "If anything, 'The Messenger Who Did Not Become a Hero' is the exception that proves the rule—and yet it’s also a reminder... that now and then, we editors should just leave well enough alone." According to the magazine, Watson's story is a "brilliant, funny, heartrending tale of a king’s messenger who finds his life turned topsy-turvy just when he thought he was more or less done living." Douglas Watson will be one of the seven featured 2013 One Story Literary Debutantes, to be honored at the annual One Story Literary Debutante Ball this summer. The event will take place on Thursday, June 6, at Roulette in Brooklyn, NY, and will include music, dancing, food, and specialty cocktails. Read Will Allison's entire piece on the story. Read One Story's Q&A with Douglas Watson. Purchase your own copy of The Era of Not Quite, today!