11-17 | Meet the Hayseed Press Authors

Family Christmas can be weird.From eggnog that doesn’t quite smell right to stray Christmas ornaments batted off the tree by an obnoxious cat, family Christmas rarely matches the stories we see on the Hallmark channel. Instead, in Hayseed Press’s latest short story collection, A Very Special Iowa Weird Christmas, a cohort of Iowa-based writers share 14 tales about what the Christmas season means to them—alienation from friends and family, awkward romances, and dwelling on the effects of bitter separations. Dry turkey and over-sweetened, canned yams are the icings on the proverbial Christmas cake.Cozy up with your own Iowa Weird family this holiday season. Find revelry in their communal misery. Rejoice in failed attempts at reconciliation. Sing Hallelujah to the small victories wherever you may find them. Wishing you and yours A Very Special Iowa Weird Christmas.About the Authors: Marc Dickinson is the author of the short story collection, Replacement Parts (Atmosphere Press, 2024) His stories have appeared in Shenandoah, Cream City Review, North American, Review, Greensboro Review, Chattahoochee Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, South Dakota Review, American Literary Review (as winner of the ALR Fiction Prize), as well as other journals. He lives in Iowa with his wife and two children, where he teaches creative writing at Des Moines Area Community College and coordinates the long-running reading series, Celebration of the Literary Arts. Hayseed Press co-founder Aaron Narigon holds a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature from University of Northern Iowa. He is a Professor of English and has taught at Hawkeye Community College since 2002. Currently Aaron coordinates Middlemoot, the Midwest’s premier biennial Tolkien conference, and is the co-founder of UKL, the only scholarly journal dedicated to the work of Ursula K. LeGuin. Erik Ullestad lives in West Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Allison. Their emptying nest includes three children (Anna, Isaac,…