Read is the author of “Hope v. Texas” and “Bristol Palin Is a Realtor.” His fiction, poetry, scholarship, essays, and satire have appeared in The Masters Review, Epoch, Wigleaf, The Moth, University of Illinois Law Review, and elsewhere. You can read samples of his work below. He will soon be seeking representation for his debut novel.
“There’s something about a title—I’ve never been very good at them, so whenever I come across a title like “Bristol Palin is a Realtor,” my posture gets a little better. And let me tell you, this story by Read Cook delivers. Just as my own curiosity is piqued by a title, our protagonist David is, in his own words, “derailed” when he discovers the daughter of the former Alaskan Governor is now a realtor in Austin, Texas, where he lives. Equal parts hilarious and devastating, this is not a story about Bristol Palin, but about a couple’s attempts to conceive, and the emotional torture they endure living next to a family with three children and a fourth on the way.”
—Cole Meyer, Editor in Chief of The Masters Review
“Hope v. Texas” (The University of Illinois Law Review)
“Without spoiling it, this is a highly unusual piece…it is a fascinating and compelling example of fiction masquerading as fact/history. The Atwood influence is clear, but the story remains highly original, with a genuine ‘gasp’ moment about two-thirds of the way through. Some truly breathtaking and hard-hitting moments in this piece which, sadly, continues to be relevant.”
—Katy Darby, author of The Whore’s Asylum/The Unpierced Heart
“To the Swift” (Blue Villa Magazine)
“This is an unforgettable story of complicity, survival, and the unbearable cost of bearing witness. Chilling authenticity, one that’s hard to shake off after reading.”
—Britt Bisignano, Editor in Chief of Blue Villa Magazine
The Queen of Switzerland (Wigleaf)
The Last Vampires of California (The Moth)
A Voyeur’s Valentines (Taco Bell Quarterly)
Corpus Christi (Pithead Chapel)
Read is the author of “Hope v. Texas” and “Bristol Palin Is a Realtor.” His fiction, poetry, scholarship, essays, and satire have appeared in The Masters Review, Epoch, Wigleaf, The Moth, University of Illinois Law Review, and elsewhere. You can read samples of his work below. He will soon be seeking representation for his debut novel.
The swing, however, was going to be a tougher ask. Blue seat, red footrest—the trees in our neighborhood were littered with these things, though I could not recall ever actually seeing a child sitting in one, swinging.
“Hope v. Texas” (The University of Illinois Law Review)
“Without spoiling it, this is a highly unusual piece (and pushes the sort of formal & [non]fictional boundaries I like to see dissolve) …it is a fascinating and compelling example of fiction masquerading as fact/history. The Atwood influence is clear, but the story remains highly original, with a genuine ‘gasp’ moment about two-thirds of the way through. Some truly breathtaking and hard-hitting moments in this piece which, sadly, continues to be relevant.”
—Katy Darby, author of The Whore’s Asylum/The Unpierced Heart
“To the Swift” (Blue Villa Magazine)
“This is an unforgettable story of complicity, survival, and the unbearable cost of bearing witness. Chilling authenticity, one that’s hard to shake off after reading.”
—Britt Bisignano, Editor in Chief of Blue Villa Magazine
The Queen of Switzerland (Wigleaf)
The Last Vampires of California (The Moth)
A Voyeur’s Valentines (Taco Bell Quarterly)
Corpus Christi (Pithead Chapel)