X. Atkins - Richmond Noir

Yeah, that’s it: a prisoner’s apprentice. The best they’ve ever seen.

Believe it or not, the following volumes were consulted during the research and conceptualization of this book: Poe’s Richmond by Agnes Meredith Bondurant; Richmond: The Story of a City by Virginius Dabney; The River Where America Began: A Journey Along the James by Bob Deans; The American Scene by Henry James; True Richmond Stories: Historic Tales from Virginia’s Capital by Harry Kollatz Jr.; James Branch Cabell and Richmond-in-Virginia by Edgar MacDonald; The Air-Conditioned Nightmare by Henry Miller; The Book of Numbers by Robert Deane Pharr; Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Heart of a New Nation by David A. Price; and the 2008 edition of the Richmond Magazine Complete Source Book .

Thanks are owed to the following for their help and advice: Ray Bonis and the staff of Special Collections and Archives at the James Branch Cabell Library at Virginia Commonwealth University; Katherine Wilkins and the staff of the Virginia Historical Society; and the staff of the Edgar Allan Poe Museum.

For support, patience, and brainstorming, we are grateful to Rachel Albright, Liz Canfield, Crystal Castleberry, Santa De Haven, Mandy Dunn, Steve Dunn, Jamie Fueglein, Jonathan Heinen, Jeff Lodge, Cynthia Lotze, Lauren Maas, Ryan McLennan, Ann Mc-Millan, Peter Orner, Faye Prichard, Patty Smith, Ward Tefft, Kelsey Trom, Adam Wayland, and the good people at the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of English.

We’d especially like to thank Johnny Temple and the staff of Akashic Books for their enthusiasm about the project, and for their support during some extremely rough patches.

We owe special thanks to Tom Robbins, whose praises we shall sing until time eternal.

Lastly, we are greatly indebted to David L. Robbins, whose wonderful story “Homework” can be found in this collection. David was the first writer who signed on to the book, and he has been its tireless promoter ever since. Without his efforts, Richmond Noir would not exist.

X. C. Atkinswas born in Zeist, Netherlands. He holds a BA in English from Virginia Commonwealth University. He recently moved from Richmond, Virginia to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the City of Brotherly Love.

Mina Beverlyis a Richmond, Virginia native. She holds a BA in English from Spelman College and an MFA in Fiction from Virginia Commonwealth University. She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia and works as an English teacher.

Andrew Blossomis the founding editor of the literary journal Makeout Creek . He lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Laura Browder’smost recent book is Her Best Shot: Women and Guns in America . She is currently collaborating with photographer Sascha Pflaeging on a book based on their gallery exhibition When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans . She teaches at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Brian Castleberryhas worked as a cook, a dishwasher, a teacher, a carnie, a shoe salesman, a receptionist, and a writer. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their two dogs.

Clay McLeod Chapmanis the creator of the rigorous storytelling session The Pumpkin Pie Show . He is the author of rest area , a collection of short stories, and miss corpus , a novel, both published by Hyperion Books. He teaches writing at the Actors Studio MFA Program at Pace University.

Dennis Danvershas published seven novels, including New York Times Notables Circuit of Heaven and The Watch , and the near-future mystery The Bright Spot (writing as Robert Sydney). Recent short fiction of his appears in Strange Horizons, Intergalactic Medicine Show, Realms of Fantasy, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet , and Space and Time .

Tom de Havenis the author of seventeen books, including Freaks’ Amour, Sunburn Lake, It’s Superman! , and the Derby Dugan trilogy of novels ( Funny Papers, Derby Dugan’s Depression Funnies , and Dugan Under Ground ). Our Hero , a book-length essay about the history and cultural impact of Superman, is forthcoming from Yale University Press’s Icons of America series. Since 1990 he has taught in the graduate creative writing program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.

Dean Kingis the author of nine books, including the national best seller Skeletons on the Zahara and, most recently, Unbound: A True Story of War, Love, and Survival about the women of Mao’s Long March. A former contributing editor to Men’s Journal , King has written for Esquire, Outside , and the New York Times . He is a cofounder of Richmond’s award-winning James River Writers organization and serves on the Library of Virginia Foundation board.

Clint McCown’ssix books include the novels The Member-Guest, War Memorials , and The Weatherman . He teaches in the MFA programs at Virginia Commonwealth University and the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Howard Owenis the author of eight novels. He and his wife Karen live in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where both are editors at the Free Lance-Star . Owen’s first novel, Littlejohn , was nominated for the Abbey Award (American Booksellers Association) and a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award. His novels Turn Signal and Rock of Ages were Book Sense selections. Owen, who lived in Richmond for twenty-nine years, has just finished his ninth novel.

Conrad Ashley Personswas born in Savannah, Georgia. He attended the University of Virginia before living in New York, London, and Tokyo. He currently resides with his wife in Brooklyn, where he is finishing his first novel, A Honeymoon .