Marian Palaia is the author of the critically acclaimed novel, The Given World, shortlisted for the Saroyan International Prize for Fiction, longlisted for The PEN/Bingham First Novel Prize, finalist for the VCU/Cabell Award, and recognized by Kirkus as a Best Novel, Best Historical Novel, and Best Debut of 2015. She received her MFA from The University of Wisconsin, Madison, and was a John Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University. In addition to her novel, her work has appeared in VQR, Glimmertrain, Joyland, Triquarterly, and other journals. Formerly a resident of San Francisco and Missoula, Montana, she currently lives in a small prison town in Arizona with her Sonoran desert dog, Action Joe Jackson. Her second novel, Bird, is up for grabs.
D— was dreamy in the precise manner of Neil Young circa 1974. Long, dark hair; green eyes; great butt; nice smile. He was sweet, funny, just tall enough. Wore a…