IF I CAN BE HONEST: Selected Prose from the Four Years of Autofocus Lit (2020-2024) - Ed. Michael Wheaton
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Before there was Autofocus Books, there was Autofocus Lit, an online journal dedicated to artful autobiographical writing in its various genres and forms. The online journal began in October 2020 and published 318 original pieces from established and emerging writers before it closed in October 2024 to continue building the press that grew out of it. This anthology collects over forty works of short-form prose (400 - 3,000 words), selected by the journal’s founder and editor-in-chief, Michael Wheaton. These works are arranged into the seven big thematic containers that developed over the publication’s four years: friends, family, heartbreak, the body, violence, death, and life. If I Can Be Honest provides an instructive, engrossing, and polyvocal survey of artfully autobiographical prose two decades into 21st century literature.
CONTRIBUTORS [ in order of appearance ]
[Friends] Aaron Burch; Nina Perlman; Zach Savich; Mike Nagel; David Schuman; Suzy Eynon
[Family] David Shields; Thad DeVassie; Amy Lyons; Andrew Sottile; Kirstie Mackenzie; DT Robbins; Andrew Bertaina
[Heartbreak] Brianna Snow; Kaycie Hall; Erin Riedel; Kristine Langley Mahler; Alyson Zetta Williams; Lexi Kent-Monning
[The Body] Donna Vorreyer; Erin Dorney; Sabrina Small; Abigail Richards; Jillian Luft
[Violence] Lyd Havens; Christy Tending; Lena Ziegler; Cameron Gearen; Paul Rousseau; Erin Slaughter
[Death] Kiyanna Hill; Danielle Chelosky; Drew Hawkins; Chance Dibben; Stephanie Austin; Laurie Rachkus Uttich
[Life] Holly Pelesky; Claire Hopple; Teresa Carmody; Kevin Maloney; Abigail Oswald; Beth Kephart; Diana Ruzova
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Michael Wheaton edits and publishes Autofocus Books. He is the author of the essay Home Movies (BUNNY, 2024), and his writing has appeared in Essay Daily, DIAGRAM, Cleveland Review of Books, Identity Theory, and elsewhere on the internet.
BOOK INFO
Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-957392-44-8
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Before there was Autofocus Books, there was Autofocus Lit, an online journal dedicated to artful autobiographical writing in its various genres and forms. The online journal began in October 2020 and published 318 original pieces from established and emerging writers before it closed in October 2024 to continue building the press that grew out of it. This anthology collects over forty works of short-form prose (400 - 3,000 words), selected by the journal’s founder and editor-in-chief, Michael Wheaton. These works are arranged into the seven big thematic containers that developed over the publication’s four years: friends, family, heartbreak, the body, violence, death, and life. If I Can Be Honest provides an instructive, engrossing, and polyvocal survey of artfully autobiographical prose two decades into 21st century literature.
CONTRIBUTORS [ in order of appearance ]
[Friends] Aaron Burch; Nina Perlman; Zach Savich; Mike Nagel; David Schuman; Suzy Eynon
[Family] David Shields; Thad DeVassie; Amy Lyons; Andrew Sottile; Kirstie Mackenzie; DT Robbins; Andrew Bertaina
[Heartbreak] Brianna Snow; Kaycie Hall; Erin Riedel; Kristine Langley Mahler; Alyson Zetta Williams; Lexi Kent-Monning
[The Body] Donna Vorreyer; Erin Dorney; Sabrina Small; Abigail Richards; Jillian Luft
[Violence] Lyd Havens; Christy Tending; Lena Ziegler; Cameron Gearen; Paul Rousseau; Erin Slaughter
[Death] Kiyanna Hill; Danielle Chelosky; Drew Hawkins; Chance Dibben; Stephanie Austin; Laurie Rachkus Uttich
[Life] Holly Pelesky; Claire Hopple; Teresa Carmody; Kevin Maloney; Abigail Oswald; Beth Kephart; Diana Ruzova
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Michael Wheaton edits and publishes Autofocus Books. He is the author of the essay Home Movies (BUNNY, 2024), and his writing has appeared in Essay Daily, DIAGRAM, Cleveland Review of Books, Identity Theory, and elsewhere on the internet.
BOOK INFO
Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-957392-44-8
BOOK DESCRIPTION
Before there was Autofocus Books, there was Autofocus Lit, an online journal dedicated to artful autobiographical writing in its various genres and forms. The online journal began in October 2020 and published 318 original pieces from established and emerging writers before it closed in October 2024 to continue building the press that grew out of it. This anthology collects over forty works of short-form prose (400 - 3,000 words), selected by the journal’s founder and editor-in-chief, Michael Wheaton. These works are arranged into the seven big thematic containers that developed over the publication’s four years: friends, family, heartbreak, the body, violence, death, and life. If I Can Be Honest provides an instructive, engrossing, and polyvocal survey of artfully autobiographical prose two decades into 21st century literature.
CONTRIBUTORS [ in order of appearance ]
[Friends] Aaron Burch; Nina Perlman; Zach Savich; Mike Nagel; David Schuman; Suzy Eynon
[Family] David Shields; Thad DeVassie; Amy Lyons; Andrew Sottile; Kirstie Mackenzie; DT Robbins; Andrew Bertaina
[Heartbreak] Brianna Snow; Kaycie Hall; Erin Riedel; Kristine Langley Mahler; Alyson Zetta Williams; Lexi Kent-Monning
[The Body] Donna Vorreyer; Erin Dorney; Sabrina Small; Abigail Richards; Jillian Luft
[Violence] Lyd Havens; Christy Tending; Lena Ziegler; Cameron Gearen; Paul Rousseau; Erin Slaughter
[Death] Kiyanna Hill; Danielle Chelosky; Drew Hawkins; Chance Dibben; Stephanie Austin; Laurie Rachkus Uttich
[Life] Holly Pelesky; Claire Hopple; Teresa Carmody; Kevin Maloney; Abigail Oswald; Beth Kephart; Diana Ruzova
ABOUT THE EDITOR
Michael Wheaton edits and publishes Autofocus Books. He is the author of the essay Home Movies (BUNNY, 2024), and his writing has appeared in Essay Daily, DIAGRAM, Cleveland Review of Books, Identity Theory, and elsewhere on the internet.
BOOK INFO
Pub Date: July 1, 2025
ISBN: 978-1-957392-44-8