19 debut and emerging writers have created worlds of characters vying for an escape in our inaugural fiction anthology. Timilehin Alake's winning story "Don't Hold Your Father's Hand," selected by guest judge Ivelisse Rodriguez, opens the collection with a heartbreaking account about chasing for the ghost of a father; Michael Agugom's "The Happiest People in the World" details a revenge gone wrong from a brother against his sister. With settings inside a blue city and orange bungalows to a California sun scorching down on a broken family, these American and international writers challenge you to believe that even after loss, there is always a way out of grief-but you still need to run to find solace.