This collection of Appalachian short stories, Troublesome Creek and Beyond, represents over two decades of writing and rewriting that began in 1996 when Bill Weinberg was a Visiting Fellow in Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences working with Jill McCorkle, who was the Director of Creative Writing at Harvard.  Several of the stories were polished and honed in the workshops offered by the Hindman Settlement School’s storied Appalachian Writer’s Workshop. They reflect a kaleidoscope of life experiences, both real and imagined.

Most of the stories have an Appalachian setting but two of them occur in the Caribbean. They cover the passage of life from childhood through young adulthood, middle age, and finally old age. They deal with disparate subjects – winning the lottery, Vietnam and terrorism, substance abuse, childhood trauma, island adventures, and existential choices. Some are comic, some tragic, and some whimsical. As the master short storyteller, Flannery O’Conner said, “when anybody asks what a story is about, the only proper thing is to tell them to read the story.” Bill Weinberg’s stories are well worth reading.

“From Kentucky to Vietnam to the Caribbean, the stories in Bill Weinberg’s brilliant Troublesome Creek and Beyond are as powerful and moving as they are beautifully crafted. This is a fantastic collection full of wisdom, humor, and grief.”
MARK POWELL author of Small Treasons