The Fiction Issue 2008
Planning a Book Tour Is a Pain in the Ass
Novelist Sarah Gerard shares what it is like to promote a book published by a small press.
A Short Story About Malls, Money, and Teenaged Cruelty
'The Outlets at Zion' by Walter Kirn is the latest story from the VICE 2015 fiction issue.
David Sedaris Talks About Surviving the Suicide of a Sibling
The essayist discusses the complex tragedy of having a loved one take their own life.
An Excerpt from Michel Gondry's New Screenplay, 'L’écume des jours' ('Mood Indigo')
Here are the first three pages of the screenplay for Michel Gondry's newest film, which will be released in the US later this year as Mood Indigo.
An Interview with Robert McKee, the God of Story
Robert McKee has lectured on storytelling for three decades, and his book Story is the bible for screenwriters. Alec Sokolow and Tony Camin are a screenwriting team in Los Angeles. They recently called McKee to talk shop and discuss What the...
Fan Fiction
I lived in a basement beneath a French professor and his wife, who taught German at a dying school for girls. When Agnes visited, there was the sharp, joyous smell of new tires. That was the smell the blue vibrator released when cleaned.
History
Lately I have run into Troy everywhere. I spotted him at a Whole Foods squeezing summer fruits. I swayed next to him one boozy night at a Wilco concert on the beach. Often I attempt to catch his eye, but he never looks at me.
The Ransom of Samantha
The detective who showed up at 5 AM was not much older-looking than Samantha's friends. (Not that Samantha ever hung out with clean-cut guys like this. Why should she when there were still heroin addicts in bands who needed a doormat?)
We’re Watching the Trees
Millie Anthony is 38. Middle of the night. Lying there in the still bedroom, looking toward the window. A man called Jeff lies beside her. “We’re watching the trees again,” she says.
Celebrity Novels, Reviewed
There are a ton of embarrassing books with famous names attached to them. We sampled a few to see whether they were really that bad and found that yes, they were.
How Do You Write a Joke?
Comedy isn’t as respected as other, more “literary” forms of writing, but it’s one of the most unforgiving. We talked to a few of these luminaries to ask them the toughest question in the world: How do you get people to laugh?