Why They Cried

ECW Press and Joyland have teamed up to launch a new e-book imprint. Joyland eBooks will publish full-length collections showcasing the best in North American short fiction starting with Why They Cried, by Jim Hanas.

Hanas writes a lean and powerful line that makes even absurd situations, a man who cries professionally, a beauty queen leaving her slob boyfriend for an astronaut, seem painfully familiar.

Why They Cried answers its own question and the answer is funnier than you think.

Jim Hanas is the author of Cassingle and Single, two e-book collections of short stories that previously appeared in McSweeney's, Fence, One Story, The Land-Grant College Review, Bridge, Twelve Stories, and elsewhere. His non-fiction and humor pieces have appeared in Slate, Radar, Print, and The New York Post. He lives in New York.

What they're saying about Why They Cried :

"A tender and smart assembly of fiction about people trying to communicate--with each other, the world--and all the ways they fail. Fail better, fail beautifully." -- Fiona Maazel, author of Last Last Chance

"Jim Hanas has a remarkable talent for imagining and crafting uncanny little worlds that make me vaguely nervous. And yet I never want toleave." -- Rob Walker, co-founder of Significant Objects

"Jim Hanas is a master at creating strange worlds, populated by evenstranger people. But these stories are also full of fun, humor and heart, each beating with its own hidden secret: a talking dog who doesn't talk, an actor who specializes in crying, a houseguest who disappears, a fun house for kids with an interrogation room, a pigeon brought mechanically back to life. Reminiscent of George Saunders and James Thurber, Why They Cried is a great collection of moderntales." --Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief and co-founder of One Story magazine