Shirley Jackson Award finalist

World Fantasy Award finalist

Dark, irreverent, and truly innovative, the nine speculative stories in Homesick meditate on the theme of home and our estrangement from it, and what happens when the familiar suddenly shifts into the uncanny. In stories that foreground queer relationships and transgender or nonbinary characters, Cipri delivers the origin story for a superhero team comprised of murdered girls; a housecleaner discovering an impossible ocean in her least-favorite clients’ house; a man haunted by keys that appear suddenly in his throat; and a team of scientists and activists discovering the remains of a long-extinct species of intelligent weasels.

In the spirit of Laura van den Berg, Emily Geminder, Chaya Bhuvaneswar, and other winners of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize, Nino Cipri’s debut collection announces the arrival of a brilliant and wonderfully unpredictable writer with a gift for turning the short story on its ear.

PRAISE FOR HOMESICK

“These stories vary from formal experiments to deeply felt character meditations, from a three-page piece of flash fiction to a well-developed novella, and from heartbreak to horror to humor. Over all they excel in a kind of subtle startling, like meeting unexpected ripples in a mirror. ... Its last and most accomplished story, “Before We Disperse Like Star Stuff,” ... is absolutely wonderful in every respect.” —New York Times Book Review

“These stories are so deliciously queer and dark and playful; Cipri is a treasure.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties

“The fantastical landscapes of Cipri’s nine tales heighten the moments of crisis that force characters to confront the here and now as well as life’s gritty unknowns.” —Booklist

“A riveting first collection that announces a major new talent unafraid to embrace the beauty of the mysterious. Uncanny, gorgeous, unyielding, original, and unforgettable.” —Ann and Jeff VanderMeer﻿

“Nine speculative stories capture the most universal parts of humanity through an organic and refreshing take on the paranormal, all while letting queer, neurodiverse, transgender, and nonbinary characters take the lead...Some stories may have more paranormal elements than others, some may be sweeter or creepier, but they'll all haunt readers long after the book is closed.A beautiful, sometimes haunting, always inviting and inclusive collection about life, love, and the paranormal.” —Kirkus Reviews

“These stories are delicious speculative confections, as masterful as Kelly Link’s but even more approachable. ... For Cipri, home is elusive, problematized, and an ache for home encompasses a desire for acceptance, safety, and even innocence.” —Vol 1 Brooklyn

“The queer stories in Homesick are as mystifying as they are provocative, and will appeal to fans of literary fiction and speculative genre fiction alike ... Since it's a collection of stories, Homesick offers many stopping points. Like unraveling the mysteries of prehistoric intelligent weasels, however, stopping proves to be quite impossible.” —Shelf Awareness

“One of the best collections I’ve read this year ... I was so taken by the variety of voices and style, coupled with the ease with which Cipri welcomes us into their imagined worlds.” —Locus Magazine

“Emerging writer and self-described weirdo mixes monsters, zombies, Super Little Dead Girls and poltergeists with screenplay, lists and good old-fashioned storytelling. The result: an excellent and entertaining collection. ... Also, shoutout to Cipri’s snappy dialogue and devotion to offbeat rhetorical questions — ‘Do you think zombies can go through revolving doors?’.” —Broken Pencil Magazine

“It's hard for my to wrap my mind around how, exactly, a book can be so simultaneously scary and sweet, terrifying and tender. In both individual stories, and throughout the whole collection, Nino Cipri traverses a dizzying range of emotional and imaginative territory. These are high-concept stories—featuring time travel, hauntings, and some very scary little girls—but they always remain rooted in the reality of human feeling. Cipri is one of our most imaginative and insightful new writers, and this is a genuinely brilliant book.” —Kristen Roupenian, author of You Know You Want This

“I remember reading Nino Cipri's first pro story and saying, 'This is someone whose career I want to follow.' The fact that that first story is included in this collection is testament to the mature, electric voice Cipri has cultivated from the beginning. Every story here is a gem that deserves to be read and read again.” —Sarah Pinsker, author of Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea

“Nino Cipri's Homesick is the best story collection I've read in ages. Every one of these short stories is a tiny reality bomb, delightfully demolishing my expectations while opening up passageways to places I'd never been before. Equal parts queer and surreal, these tales will captivate your heart while keeping you guessing and wondering. A must for fans of Kelly Link and Justin Chin.” —Charlie Jane Anders, author of The City in the Middle of the Night

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nino Cipri is a queer and trans/nonbinary writer, editor, and educator. They are a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and a MFA candidate at the University of Kansas. Nino’s fiction and essays have been published by dozens of different venues, and their debut story collection HOMESICK will be published by Dzanc Books in 2019. Nino has also written plays, screenplays, and radio features; performed as a dancer, actor, and puppeteer; and worked as a stagehand, bookseller, bike mechanic, and labor organizer.

One time, an angry person on the internet called Nino a verbal terrorist, which was pretty funny.