Set in 1930's Alabama, multiple narrators form a chorus to tell this story of the racial and class tensions that come bubbling to the surface when a young girl hears a big splash in her family's well." O, The Oprah Magazine praised Gin Phillips as "a dazzling new novelist," and called her first novel, "a quietly bold debut, full of heart."

From the Judges:
"The Well and the Mine is an enthralling book, enthralling in the best way, without a whiff of showoffy pyrotechnics or earnest sentimentality. Like Willa Cather's, Phillips' language is deep, clear, strong, and true; and her characters are at once interestingly familiar, human, refreshingly strange, and complex. The novel's structure is deceptively sophisticated -- the narrative flow is so compelling, it almost obscures the subtle technical skill that went into its making. The Well and the Mine is pure pleasure to read, and achieves the quietest but most rewarding of literary endeavors: a good story, well told. Gin Phillips is truly a great new American writer." --Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man

"The characters in The Well and the Mine are both complicated and sweet, but never saccharine or watered down with false naivety. While there's just enough intrigue in the plot to keep you turning the pages, it's the characters -- their voices, their kens -- that remain after the final page is turned. Phillips artfully engages wit the traditions of Southern literature but somehow remains fresh and original. A brilliant and memorable novel." --Mark Jude Poirier, novelist and screenwriter of Smart People

"I find it impossible to believe that The Well and the Mine is a debut novel. It's absolutely flawless: a beautiful Depression-era story told without irony. I reveled in its shades of Harper Lee and Faulkner. Timeless, captivating, honest, brave -- and not one false move. It changed me." --Suzanne Finnamore, author of Otherwise Engaged and Split

Benjamin Taylor's "excellent" (The New Yorker) second novel, is an unusual coming-of-age tale; the story of a young man, obsessed with finding his place in history, who learns the limits of both mathematics and relationships. The Seattle Times called it "elegant and beautifully evoked," and Ann Patchett has stated, "I could read Benjamin Taylor forever."
From the Judges:
"The voice of the outsider looking in has served many great novels well -- among them, notably, The Great Gatsby and Brideshead Revisited. Benjamin Taylor's The Book of Getting Even takes its place alongside its illustrious forebears; it is an intelligent, emotionally resonant novel whose first-person narrative is unafraid to shine a clear, unblinking light onto the tricky themes of sexuality, American class systems, Jewishness, and familial bonds. The Book is Getting Even is beautiful in its elegance and fearlessness, and is almost impossible to put down, from compelling beginning to poignantly surprising end." --Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man

"The Book of Getting Even is a humorous and moving story of a love affair between a young man and an entire family. Benjamin Taylor's prose is beautiful and dense, but never impedes the plot or mitigates the liveliness of the characters. The novel is a mere 176 pages, but its impact is emotionally monumental." --Mark Jude Poirier, novelist and screenwriter of Smart People

"The Book of Getting Even is uniquely impressive and riveting. It took my breath away with its brilliant voice and massive charm. I can't wait to see what this gem of an author does next!" --Suzanne Finnamore, author of Otherwise Engaged and Split

Zach Lazar's second novel has been called a "powerful, infernal prism through which to view the potent, still-rippling contradictions of the late '60s" (Los Angeles Times), and The New York Times hailed him as "the most valuable kind of cultural commentator." In this dark and disturbing novel, he fictionalizes the lives of three real-life characters: Brian Jones of The Rolling Stones, avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger, and Bobby Beausoleil, an acolyte of Charles Manson.

From the Judges:
"Sway is a tour de force, a sinuous feat of literary prestidigitation. Zachary Lazar imagines himself into the bodies and psyches of the madmen and superstars including and surrounding those opposite-pole dark stars, Mick Jagger and Charles Manson. Lazar penetrates the legends and their stories to achieve a visceral, imagined, fictionalized historical truth about the tragic, violent end of the 1960s. Sway is a cracking whip of a book, a wild joyride." --Kate Christensen, author of The Great Man

"What makes Zachary Lazar's Sway an unforgettable read is his ability to convey the passions and motivations of '60s iconic figures with authority and art. It's a haunting, daring novel that illuminates the beautiful and ugly world of 1969, all with an emotional honesty that's rare these days." --Mark Jude Poirier, novelist and screenwriter of Smart People

"Sway richly deserves all the praise it has garnered. The author seems to channel Manson, Jagger, and other icons with the ease of an alchemist. Much like Capote's In Cold Blood, Sway leaves the reader feeling as though everything within its pages is tightly-woven -- and inasmuch is perhaps truer than reality." --Suzanne Finnamore, author of Otherwise Engaged and Split