Myriam Gurba

Painting Their Portraits in Winter: Stories Myriam Gurba

Publisher Marketing: In this artfully crafted collection of new short stories by award-winning author Myriam Gurba, nothing is as it seems on the surface. A Mexican grandmother tells creepy yet fascinating ghost stories to her granddaughters as a way to make them sit still ("How Some Abuelitas Keep Their Chicana Granddaughters Still So That They Can Paint Their Portraits in Winter"). A Polish grandfather spends the night in a Mexican graveyard after a Dia de Muertos celebration to discover if ghosts really do consume the food that has been left for them ("Even this Title Is a Ghost"). Unforgettable characters inhabit these cross-border tales filled with introspection and longing, as modern sensibilities weave and wind through traditional folktales creating a new kind of magical realism that offers insights into where we come from and where we may be going. A native Californian, Myriam Gurba earned a BA with honors from UC-Berkeley. Her writing has been published by Manic D Press, Future Tense, City Lights, and Seal Press. Her first book, "Dahlia Season," won the Publishing Triangle's Edmund White Award for Debut Fiction and was shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award. She blogs often for the "Rumpus" and Radar Productions. Contributor Bio:  Gurba, Myriam Myriam Gurba's writing has appeared in many anthologies including Best American Erotica (St. Martin's), Bottom's Up (Soft Skull), Secrets and Confidences (Seal), and Tough Girls (Black Books). A graduate of UC Berkekley, Gurba is currently a high school teacher living in Long Beach, California, home of Snoop Dogg and the Queen Mary.