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Melissa Pritchard

Melissa has published ten books. Her most recent is a collection of essays, A Solemn Pleasure, from Bellevue Literary Press. Her fiction, journalism, and nonfiction have received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the Carl Sandburg Literary Award, and a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. Her work has appeared in The PEN / O.Henry Prize Stories and The Pushcart Prize series. Currently at work on a novel and a story collection, Melissa teaches at Arizona State University.

The Carnation Milk Palace

Charlotte ducked out, threading her way through the twisting couples, the sickening reek of sweat, alcohol, perfume. Out in the silent hallway, hoping for a bathroom, Charlotte pulled on the nearest door. It opened into a cold, unlit, forbidding room.