Writer Rick Moody grew up in New York and the surrounding area. He studied at Brown and Columbia, briefly worked in publishing, and released his first novel in 1992. Moody's work mines smart, messed-up people's minds and also explores the literate culture of New York City and its suburbs. Moody's

Psychological, Smart, Sprawling

Mal-O-Mar is a genuinely tiny press that was founded recently by poet Ariana Reines; the press allowed her to print completed work almost immediately, without going through the normal song and dance with the publishing industry. It’s a venture that gives writers immense control over the publishing

Intimate, Smart

Crime novelist James Ellroy grew up in Los Angeles, the city he's written about since 1981. The 1958 murder of his mother shaped his childhood and later became the subject of his book 'Black Dahlia.' A high school drop-out, Ellroy had a troubled young adulthood. He joined the army briefly, but was di

Dark, Rhythmic, Smart

Argent was trained in sculpture at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia and received an MFA from the Rinehart School of Sculpture at the Maryland Institute, College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. He has been awarded numerous fellowships including the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, the

Clean, Clever, Dramatic, Funny, Playful, Public art, Quirky, Smart