Opium for the Arts

For Opium5, we decided we didn't want to contribute to the voyeuristic lift--em-up and tear-'em-down compulsion that keeps our modern celebrities acting so badly. So we turned the cameras around. Instead of focusing on the masterminds behind the work, we zoomed in on the writing. Our new old concept: let the stories speak for themselves. The price includes shipping direct to your mailbox. Featuring: STORIES by Ryan Bartelmay, "Lemonhead"; Thomas Cooper, "The Old-Fashioned Way"; Stephen Elliott, "A Short Essay about Internet Dating"; Jonathan Evison, "Big Bill Down Under"; Rich Ferguson, "More Steve McQueen than Anything"; Jon Paul Fiorention, "Jonny's Mid-Life Crisis Guide to St. Petersburg"; Karen Hugg, "The Vampire at the Bakery"; Richard Lange, "Dead Boys"; Bob Powers, "Happy Cruelty Day!"; Terese Svoboda, "Rex Rhymes with It"; and Holly Wilson, "Whisker Get Your Gun." POETRY by Jennifer Faylor, "Cartography for Beginners"; Nathan Ladd, "The Plan"; Dave Morrison, "Award"; Shya Scanlon, "Still Life with Stars"; Sarah J. Sloat, "On the Way to Meet My Daughter's Teacher"; and Julia Story, "Sad. " CARTOONS by CM Evans, including "Precarious Neighbor," "Our New Neighbor," and "The Other 45 Ways." COLORING BOOK PAGES by Heather Sparks, "It Colors Your Life." an INTERVIEW by James Hass, "The Present is Far More Interesting than the Future: William Gibson." and featuring the 8 winners of the 500-WORD MEMOIR contest, judged by Daniel Handler: Lisa K Buchanan, "The Autobiography of My Celebrity Interview Subject"; Giancarlo Ditrapano, "Benediction"; John Jodzio, "The Future"; Aharon Levy, "Travelers"; Damion Searls, "This is Something that Happened to Me Before I Hit the Big Time"; Anna Vlasova, "Magnolias"; Jay Wexler, "My First Boob"; and Sandra Worsham, "Medusa."