"I heard a smart person say once that short stories were the ideal form to receive and integrate information. Whether it’s completely true or not, the idea has stayed with me, and if you were trying to argue the point, “I Knew You’d Be Lovely,” could be held up as Exhibit A. Emotionally, no work(s) of fiction ever moved me more thoroughly."

"Did you ever see this movie Headhunters? It’s an insane chase movie that goes very, very, very dark. I just love one of the central driving forces behind the main character is just that he thinks he’s too short. [laughs] I love it when a story, when you really break down someone’s essence, and that is their fatal flaw. It’s just so simple."

"I was thrilled by this short film when I first saw it at the age of seven in a public school gymnasium. I immediately went home and tried to carve my own little “paddle to the sea” (I quickly gave up—carving wood is hard!). The film still holds the same beauty and sense of wonder for me today. A perfect thing."

"After seeing the short version of this a few years back, I was excited to hear about and watch the feature, and it did not disappoint. It’s funny and charming, and has so many surprising bits in it that I’m tickled just thinking about them. This is social satire at its best and I can’t wait to see what these filmmakers do next!"

"Mary Miller is one of my favorite short story writers and in Big World, she writes about flawed, boozy women who make bad decisions and live to tell their tales. The writing in this little collection is atmospheric and claustrophobic and illuminating and lovely. In each story, Miller shows us how the world is as big as it is small."

"Mary Miller is one of my favorite short story writers and in “Big World,” she writes about flawed, boozy women who make bad decisions and live to tell their tales. The writing in this little collection is atmospheric and claustrophobic and illuminating and lovely. In each story, Miller shows us how the world is as big as it is small."

"I’m currently working through this one story at a time A friend who works in publishing introduced me to Monterroso’s writing because I have often called some of my work fables, and Monterroso’s short stories feel like that, also. But they are also very unsettling, with a Kafak-esque sheen to them, like black little pearls that are beautiful but scare you."