“Writing fiction is the only way I know to gum up time’s nasty linear flow without snubbing the void”, says author Paige Cooper. “It takes forever. It’s weird that there’s no tangible, visible evidence of great emotion. We deny or lie about our emotions. Stories exist as some kind of evidence, at least.”

Paige’s writing is not designed for mass-market appeal, nor does she wish it to be. In Zolitude, her challenging, dense, and poetic debut collection of short stories, Paige explores universal themes of love, loneliness, obsession, and frustration in settings ranging from the familiar to the utterly fantastical. The book has been receiving strong critical acclaim. “Like a poet, Cooper is

relentlessly original in every sentence”, says Kirkus Review, adding that “readers willing to give themselves over to some mystery will be rewarded.” The Walrus describes the collection as “often astonishing and occasionally… extraordinary.”

 Paige was born in the Rocky Mountains. Her stories have appeared in The Fiddlehead, West Branch, Michigan Quarterly Review, Gulf Coast Online, Canadian Notes & Queries, The New Quarterly, Minola Review, Cosmonauts Avenue, and have been anthologized in The Journey Prize Stories and Best Canadian Stories. She now lives in Montreal.

Appearing in: Tough and Tender: Visceral Short Fiction

Website: www.biblioasis.com/brand/cooper-paige
Book: www.biblioasis.com/shop/new-release/zolitude