The Patron Saint of Lost Girls (Nilsen Prize for a First Novel Winner)

Maureen Aitken

$18.00

Publication Date: October 8th, 2018

Publisher:

Southeast Missouri State Univ Press

ISBN:

9780997926279

Pages:

172

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Description

It’s the Midwest in the 1970-80s, and Mary is growing up in Detroit, where the recession hits hard, and jobs are scarce. In a set of linked stories, Mary tries to conjure the spirits of protection to confront economic struggle, violence, addiction, and death. Mary moves to cities across the Midwest looking for work, all the while learning the healing power of dignity from the true patrons: her community of friends and family who teach her to love better, live fuller, and question power. An ode to the creative spirit’s ability to transcend hardship, The Patron Saint of Lost Girls paints an unflinching portrait of women’s resilience in the face of injustice.

About the Author

Maureen Aitken is the recipient of the Nilsen Prize. Her collection of stories is forthcoming in 2018. She has also won the Minnesota State Arts Board’s Artist Initiative Grant, the Loft Mentor Award, an award in Ireland’s Fish Short Story Prize, and a grant from the SASE/Jerome Foundation. Stories in her collection have earned two Pushcart Prize nominations and have been published in journals such as Prairie Schooner, The Journal, Night Train, Puerto del Sol and the international anthology, The Bering Strait and Other Stories. She teaches writing at the University of Minnesota, where she received her MFA degree.