Our Best War Stories

Packed with 36 PRIZE-WINNING WORKS of WAR POETRY, SHORT FICTION, and NON-FICTION from TODAY'S WARS!

A patrol races to make peace with Afghan village leaders, battling time to save a snake-bitten Marine! An Army veteran whose touch can hold off death attempts to find his grip. On the streets of Washington, D.C. a former sailor is haunted by the ghost of a stalker who once threatened her career! A proud Air Force brat faces racism on an overseas playground! The crew of an Army cargo plane delivers a brand new Jeep to special forces-in the middle of a jungle firefight!

Since 2016, administered by the Chicago-based literary journal Line of Advance, the Col. Darron L. Wright Memorial Awards have served not only to highlight some of the best contemporary voices writing about modern wars-from Vietnam, to Iraq and Afghanistan-but to also creatively commemorate the life of a U.S. Army leader and writer, beloved by his family and troops.

Contributors to this volume include:

- Brian L. Braden: U.S. Air Force veteran, former military intelligence officer, and author of the historical fantasy series Black Sea Gods: Chronicles of Fu Xi.

- Eric Chandler: U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, former F-16 fighter pilot over Iraq and Afghanistan, outdoor sports writer, and author of the poetry collection Hugging This Rock: Poems of Earth & Sky, Love & War.

- Desiree Cooper: U.S. Air Force family member, journalist, and author of the award-winning flash-fiction collection Know the Mother.

- Jillian Danback-McGhan: U.S. Naval Academy graduate, management coach, and emerging author of literary short stories.

- David R. Dixon: U.S. Army veteran, and author of the military science-fiction swashbuckler The Damsel.

- Dewaine Farria: U.S. Marine Corps veteran, winner of the inaugural Syracuse University Press Veterans' Writing Award for best book-length fiction or non-fiction, and author of the forthcoming novel Revolutions of All Colors.

- Travis Klempan: U.S. Naval Academy graduate, and author of the metaphysical thriller Have Snakes, Need Birds.

- Ray McPadden: U.S. Army Ranger veteran, winner of the American Library Association's W.Y. Boyd Award for Excellence in Military Fiction, and author of the novel And the Whole Mountain Burned.

- Lisa Stice: U.S. Marine Corps spouse, and author of the poetry collections Uniform and Permanent Change of Station.

- William R. "Bill" Upton: U.S. Army veteran, a former crew chief on C-72B "Caribou" aircraft over Vietnam, and author of the memoir Pizza and Mortars: Ba-muoi-ba & Body Bags.

Other contributors to this volume include:

Edward Ahern - F.S. Blake - Randy Brown - Jack Erwin - Ellyana Gomez - Scott Hubbartt - Laura Joyce-Hubbard - Michael Janairo - Brian Kerg - Michael Lund - Sarah Maples - David S. Pointer - Terry Sanville - Colin W. Sargent - Ryan Stovall - John Thampi - Meredith Wadley - Jeremy Hussein Warneke - Ben Weakley - Amy Zaranek