Preservationist

To Sam Blount, meeting Julia is the best thing that has ever happened to him. Working at the local college and unsuccessful in his previous relationships, he’d been feeling troubled about his approaching fortieth birthday, “a great beast of a birthday,” as he sees it, but being with Julia makes him feel young and hopeful. Julia Stilwell, a freshman trying to come to terms with a recent tragedy that has stripped her of her greatest talent, is flattered by Sam’s attention. But their relationship is tested by a shy young man with a secret, Marcus Broley, who is also infatuated with Julia. Told in alternating points of view, The Preservationist is the riveting tale of Julia and Sam's relationship, which begins to unravel as the threat of violence approaches and Julia becomes less and less sure whom she can trust.

Justin Kramon, author of Finny, is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and Alaska Quarterly review. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden international Writers’ Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation. He lives in Philadelphia.