Julia Elliott's fiction has appeared in "Tin House," the "Georgia Review," "Conjunctions," "Fence," "Puerto del Sol," "Mississippi Review," "Best American Fantasy," and other publications. She has won a Pushcart Prize and a Rona Jaffe Writer's Award. Her novel "The New and Improved Romie Futch" will be published by Tin House Books in 2015, and she is currently working on a novel about Hamadryas baboons, a species that she has studied as an amateur primatologist. She teaches English and women's and gender studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, where she lives with her daughter and husband. She and her spouse, John Dennis, are founding members of Grey Egg, an experimental music collective.
*"Kirkus" names "The Wilds" one of the best books of the year
*"BuzzFeed Books" names "The Wilds" one of the 24 Best Fiction
Books of 2014
*"The Wilds" is on "Book Riot's" Best of 2014 list
*"The Wilds" is a "New York Times" Editors' Choice
*"The Wilds" chosen by "Electric Literature" as one of the best
short story collections of 2014
"Elliott makes us hear contemporary English in a new way."
"The New York Times Book Review"
"Remarkable . . . [Elliott's] dark, modern spin on Southern Gothic
creates tales that surprise, shock, and sharply depict vice and
virtue."
"Publishers Weekly," starred review
"Robots may search for love, but there s nothing wilder than human
nature in this genre-bending short story collection from debut
writer Elliott . . . This book will take you to places you never
dreamed of going and aren't quite sure you want to stay, but you
won't regret the journey."
"Kirkus"
"Humans, robots, and humans with robotic limbs pine for carnal
satisfaction in Elliott s impressively inventive, often macabre
collection, animated by her characters outsize appetites for sex,
knowledge, faith, and kindness."
"Booklist"
"This is wacky, bizarre content, but with a nice dose of realism
even in the most absurd points. If you like Karen Russell, this is
a good choice for you."
"Book Riot"
"[Elliott's] work is unique and haunting, often drifting into
apocalyptic and dystopian territory, but in many ways rooted in
reality. I could not turn away from her tales. At the end of my
time with "The Wilds," I was completely devoted to Elliott s dark
depictions of the world.
"The Rumpus"
"Elliott s inventive first collection is replete with robotic limbs
and levitation but also grit and force. A dark piece of magic that
glows in the reading."
"Flavorwire"
"Often using dystopian and fantasy elements, Elliott s writing is
imaginative, her characters are often strange, and the whole
collection is a dark treat you simply can t put down."
"New Pages"
"Part whimsical fairy tale, part technological exploration, fused
with biological ruminations you won t be disappointed by this vivid
collection."
"True Reader Reviews"
Readers who grew up loving that fizzy, edge-of-the-lake feeling of
diving into a tale will adore Julia Elliott's "The Wilds."
Elliott's worlds are fully imagined and wholly immersive; her
sentences unfurl in the most surprising and glorious ways. These
are tantalizingly strange, eerie and funny and unpredictable tales
of transformation.
Karen Russell, author of "Vampires in the Lemon Grove"
Julia Elliott s magical debut collection, "The Wilds," brings
together some of the most original, hilarious, and mind-bending
stories written in the last two decades. She journeys deep into
mythic terrains with an explorer s courage and a savant s wit, and
the reports she sends back from imagination s hinterlands are
charged with a vernacular that crackles with insight. Angela
Carter, Kelly Link, and Karen Russell are similar visionaries in
the short story form, but Elliott is very much her own
irrepressible voiceand it s one well worth heeding. "The Wilds" is
simply a milestone achievement.
Bradford Morrow, author of "The Uninnocent"
Julia Elliott s storieswhich thrive beautifully somewhere between
the lyrically haunting works of Barry Hannah and the retrospective
works of Lewis Nordanoffer nothing but the great, beautiful, dark
regions of the human heart. These are stories to be cherished,
taught, and brooded upon. These are stories in which to bathe
oneself."
George Singleton, author of "Stray Decorum"
Julia Elliott s stories are an endangered speciesvital, poignant,
and rare. Readers should send themselves recklessly into "The
Wilds," for they will emerge spellbound, all the better for it.
Kate Bernheimer, author of "How a Mother Weaned Her Girl from Fairy
Tales"
""The Wilds" by Julia Elliott a very well-written book of short
stories that are creepy and weird in the good way. In the title
story, a girl wearing a homemade crown of bird skulls tells of
getting taken prisoner by a feral pack of boys, known as the Wilds,
who live nearby. 'Their chests glowed with firefly juice. They had
steak knives strapped to their belts and some of them wore
goggles.' How can you go wrong with that setup?"
Arthur Bradford, fiction and children s writer ("Dogwalker, Benny s
Brigade")
"
"Remarkable . . . [Elliott's] dark, modern spin on Southern Gothic
creates tales that surprise, shock, and sharply depict vice and
virtue."
--"Publishers Weekly," starred review
"Robots may search for love, but there's nothing wilder than human
nature in this genre-bending short story collection from debut
writer Elliott . . . This book will take you to places you never
dreamed of going and aren't quite sure you want to stay, but you
won't regret the journey."
--"Kirkus"
"Humans, robots, and humans with robotic limbs pine for carnal
satisfaction in Elliott's impressively inventive, often macabre
collection, animated by her characters' outsize appetites for sex,
knowledge, faith, and kindness."
--"Booklist"
"Readers who grew up loving that fizzy, edge-of-the-lake feeling of
diving into a tale will adore Julia Elliott's "The Wilds."
Elliott's worlds are fully imagined and wholly immersive; her
sentences unfurl in the most surprising and glorious ways. These
are tantalizingly strange, eerie and funny and unpredictable tales
of transformation."
--Karen Russell, author of "Vampires in the Lemon Grove"
"Julia Elliott's magical debut collection, "The Wilds," brings
together some of the most original, hilarious, and mind-bending
stories written in the last two decades. She journeys deep into
mythic terrains with an explorer's courage and a savant's wit, and
the reports she sends back from imagination's hinterlands are
charged with a vernacular that crackles with insight. Angela
Carter, Kelly Link, and Karen Russell are similar visionaries in
the short story form, but Elliott is very much her own
irrepressible voice--and it's one well worth heeding. "The Wilds"
is simply a milestone achievement."
--Bradford Morrow, author of "The Uninnocent"
"Julia Elliott's stories--which thrive beautifully somewhere
between the lyrically haunting works of Barry Hannah and the
retrospective works of Lewis Nordan--offer nothing but the great,
beautiful, dark regions of the human heart. These are stories to be
cherished, taught, and brooded upon. These are stories in which to
bathe oneself."
--George Singleton, author of "Stray Decorum"
"Julia Elliott's stories are an endangered species--vital,
poignant, and rare. Readers should send themselves recklessly into
"The Wilds," for they will emerge spellbound, all the better for
it."
--Kate Bernheimer, author of "How a Mother Weaned Her Girl from
Fairy Tales"
"Robots may search for love, but there's nothing wilder than human
nature in this genre-bending short story collection from debut
writer Elliott . . . This book will take you to places you never
dreamed of going and aren't quite sure you want to stay, but you
won't regret the journey."
--"Kirkus"
"Readers who grew up loving that fizzy, edge-of-the-lake feeling of
diving into a tale will adore Julia Elliott's "The Wilds."
Elliott's worlds are fully imagined and wholly immersive; her
sentences unfurl in the most surprising and glorious ways. These
are tantalizingly strange, eerie and funny and unpredictable tales
of transformation."
--Karen Russell, author of "Vampires in the Lemon Grove"
"Julia Elliott's magical debut collection, "The Wilds," brings
together some of the most original, hilarious, and mind-bending
stories written in the last two decades. She journeys deep into
mythic terrains with an explorer's courage and a savant's wit, and
the reports she sends back from imagination's hinterlands are
charged with a vernacular that crackles with insight. Angela
Carter, Kelly Link, and Karen Russell are similar visionaries in
the short story form, but Elliott is very much her own
irrepressible voice--and it's one well worth heeding. "The Wilds"
is simply a milestone achievement."
--Bradford Morrow, author of "The Uninnocent"
"Julia Elliott's stories--which thrive beautifully somewhere
between the lyrically haunting works of Barry Hannah and the
retrospective works of Lewis Nordan--offer nothing but the great,
beautiful, dark regions of the human heart. These are stories to be
cherished, taught, and brooded upon. These are stories in which to
bathe oneself."
--George Singleton, author of "Stray Decorum"
"Julia Elliott's stories are an endangered species--vital,
poignant, and rare. Readers should send themselves recklessly into
"The Wilds," for they will emerge spellbound, all the better for
it."
--Kate Bernheimer, author of "H
Robots may search for love, but there's nothing wilder than human
nature in this genre-bending short story collection from debut
writer Elliott . . . This book will take you to places you never
dreamed of going and aren't quite sure you want to stay, but you
won't regret the journey. --Kirkus
"Julia Elliott's magical debut collection, "The Wilds", brings
together some of the most original, hilarious, and mind-bending
stories written in the last two decades. She journeys deep into
mythic terrains with an explorer's courage and a savant's wit, and
the reports she sends back from imagination's hinterlands are
charged with a vernacular that crackles with insight. Angela
Carter, Kelly Link, and Karen Russell are similar visionaries in
the short story form, but Elliott is very much her own
irrepressible voice--and it's one well worth heeding. "The Wilds"
is simply a milestone achievement."
--Bradford Morrow, author of "The Uninnocent"
"Julia Elliott's stories--which thrive beautifully somewhere
between the lyrically haunting works of Barry Hannah and the
retrospective works of Lewis Nordan--offer nothing but the great,
beautiful, dark regions of the human heart. These are stories to be
cherished, taught, and brooded upon. These are stories in which to
bathe oneself."
--George Singleton, author of "Stray Decorum"
"Julia Elliott's magical debut collection, "The Wilds", brings
together some of the most original, hilarious, and mind-bending
stories written in the last two decades. She journeys deep into
mythic terrains with an explorer's courage and a savant's wit, and
the reports she sends back from imagination's hinterlands are
charged with a vernacular that crackles with insight. Angela
Carter, Kelly Link, and Karen Russell are similar visionaries in
the short story form, but Elliott is very much her own
irrepressible voice--and it's one well worth heeding. "The Wilds"
is simply a milestone achievement."
--Bradford Morrow, author of "The Uninnocent"
"Julia Elliott's stories--which thrive beautifully somewhere
between the lyrically haunting works of Barry Hannah and the
retrospective works of Lewis Nordan--offer nothing but the great,
beautiful, dark regions of the human heart. These are stories to be
cherished, taught, and brooded upon. These are stories in which to
bathe oneself."
--George Singleton, author of "Stray Decorum"
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