WINNER OF A 2012 LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD Selected by Dave Eggers for Best American Nonrequired Reading In this extraordinary debut novel, Laurie Weeks captures the freedom and longing of life on the edge in New York City. Ranting letters to Judy Davis and Sylvia Plath, an unrequited fixation on a straight best friend, exalted nightclub epiphanies, devastating morning-after hangovers--Zipper Mouth chronicles the exuberance and mortification of a junkie, and transcends the chaos of everyday life.

Kind, encouraging, and humorous, Karen Ehman helps us learn the essential practice of using our words more effectively--alleviating heartache and regret, reducing relational tension and conflict, lessening our stress levels, and growing our relationship with God. From Bible times to modern times women have struggled with their words. What to say and how to say it. What not to say. When it is best to remain silent. And what to do when you've said something you wish you could now take back. In this book a woman whose mouth has gotten her into loads of trouble shares the hows (and how-not-tos) of dealing with the tongue. Beyond just a "how not to gossip" book, this book explores what the Bible says about the many ways we are to use our words and the times when we are to remain silent. Karen will cover using our speech to interact with friends, co-workers, family, and strangers as well as in the many places we use our words in private, in public, online, and in prayer. Even the words we say silently to ourselves. She will address unsolicited opinion-slinging, speaking the truth in love, not saying words just to people-please, and dealing with our verbal anger. Christian women struggle with their mouths. Even though we know that Scripture has much to say about how we are--and are not--to use our words, this is still an immense issue, causing heartache and strain not only in family relationships, but also in friendships, work, and church settings. Also available: Keep It Shut small group video study and study guide.

Elmo and his friends have lots of fun saying oodles of words with interesting sounds—and which sometimes feel a little funny in the mouth—such as pop, zip, hopscotch, growl, snip, gurgle, squiggly, ticktock, and lots more. There are giggles galore for babies and toddlers on every single page!

Meet Drew Gavin, former college football star, now a wisecracking sportswriter who claims his drunken rut as a life. But that life changes at his class reunion when his old college sweetheart, Helen, lures Drew into trouble.Helen is married to a wheeler-dealer lawyer named Freddie, imminently in danger of having his knee caps broken for gambling debts. Helen pleads for Drew's help. Playing the sucker, Drew goes to a bookie named Three Eyes to plead Freddie's case. Soon after, Freddie is found dead and Drew becomes the prime murder suspect.Smooth, swift and sure prose, diverting personal and locker-room intrigues, and easy-to-hate villains make this first title in a new series by the author of the Bubba Mabry series an exciting read.-Library Journal

“An honest and genuine DIY punk-rock lesbian love story.” —Kirkus Reviews Amanda moves to London with nothing but her guitar and her collection of punk music as the soundtrack to her every move. With the company of a few friendly voices in her head, she looks for—and finds—a best friend and new lover. She forms a band, Lesbian Raincoat, and completely rewrites the story of her life. In this irreverently funny yet profound novel, Amanda risks deportation, recalls the fervor of AIDS activism in the United States, connects to the class struggle of punk, and finds redemption in love. But she also must confront her own mental illness, her lover’s rape, and the violence of post-9/11 politics. Pissing in a River captures the glee and turbulence of surviving the cacophony of modern life. “A love letter to the obsessions that captivated an outcast generation: punk, politics, passion, and provocation.” —Maria Raha, author of Cinderella’s Big Score: Women of the Punk and Indie Underground

"This gorgeous debut is a 'debut' in chronology only. . . . Need is everywhere—in the unforgiving images, in lines so delicate they seem to break apart in the hands, and in the reader who will enter these poems and never want to leave."—Adrian Matejka Phillip B. Williams investigates the dangers of desire, balancing narratives of addiction, murders, and hate crimes with passionate, uncompromising depth. Formal poems entrenched in urban landscapes crack open dialogues of racism and homophobia rampant in our culture. Multitudinous voices explore one's ability to harm and be harmed, which uniquely juxtaposes the capacity to revel in both experiences. From "Agenda": I. While two women kissed in their house I watched a jury hide bullets in a Black boy's body, all rigor mortis and bass line. I landed in Chicago, a lead box. The airport showed CNN and a Black mother could not be heard over gate changes, bistro jazz. Subtitles gathered and faded like gossip while I made my mouth vacant in my hometown. I carried a fever of insufferable noise that skin, illuminated by a hoodie, held close, a forced kin. Phillip B. Williams has authored two chapbooks: Bruised Gospels (Arts in Bloom Inc.) and Burn (YesYes Books). A Cave Canem graduate, he received scholarships from Bread Loaf Writers Conference and a Ruth Lilly Fellowship. His work appeared or is forthcoming in Callaloo, Poetry, the Southern Review, West Branch , and others. Phillip received his MFA in Writing as a Chancellor's Graduate Fellow at the Washington University in St. Louis. He is the poetry editor of Vinyl Poetry.

Grace has two big problems—how will she cope? Grace Schmitt is a bit of a dreamer. In her mind, she’s the most popular girl in school, with flowing golden hair and too many friends to count. And let’s not forget all the boys who admire her perfectly proportioned figure. Everything is, in a word, perfect. Unfortunately, Grace’s life is a bit more complicated than that in reality. Going into tenth grade, her body changes rapidly, leaving her feeling ungainly, awkward, and conspicuous, mostly because of her large bust. It’s become such a problem that she’s begun saving money for breast-reduction surgery. Things come to a head when a circle of cruel classmates, led by Ashley, the actual most popular girl in school, decide to see if Grace’s breasts are real. On the worst day of her life, it takes a miracle (in the form of Ms. Govoni, the gym teacher) to save Grace from life-altering humiliation. Little does she know, the experience will trigger an astounding series of events that test her character, bolster her self-esteem, and turn her life around.