In the Amber Chamber: Stories

In the Amber Chamber is a story collection where fairy tales and speculative fiction intersect with the hard facts of eastern European history. These political fables take place in eastern Europe, Kansas, and even other planets. Its characters include Peace Corps volunteers, childless parents, Hansel and Gretel, former rural farmworkers, Dust Bowl survivors, and immigrants in Chicago. Like the work of Kelly Link and Angela Carter, In the Amber Chamber reframe our understanding of story.

About the Author

CARRIE MESSENGER grew up in Evanston, Illinois She is a graduate of Yale University who served as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1994-1996 in Straseni, Moldova. She is a graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop. In addition to publishing short stories and translations, Messenger's nonfiction has appeared in Harpur Palate, Ecotone, and Barrelhouse. She is also an associate fiction editor for the literary magazine West Branch. She lives with her family in Shepherdstown, WV, and teaches at Shepherd University. In the Amber Chamber won the Brighthorse Prize for Short Fiction.

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