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starred reviews in Kirkus and Publisher's Weekly.

"The strongest stories in this collection don't try too hard to dazzle with formal virtuosity but let Meno slowly pull his characters out from their own peculiar inner worlds into the one we recognize, for better or for worse, as the real world. Loss seems to be the lingua franca that unites these souls; Meno's sympathy for them is acute, and he never lets fictional pyrotechnics blind him, or us, to their humanity." New York Times, August 2008

"Joe Meno is an interesting case: a punk/noir stylist who can imitate something more rarefied, poetic, and universal--more clearly than ever in his intriguing, elusive Demons in the Spring, resplendent in an embossed cloth cover, its 20 stories illustrated by graphic artists, cartoonists, and the like. . . . These tales have the feel of whole novels distilled into tone poems and lyric fragments of natural dialogue, lucid dream states, and pure, all-too-human existential ludicrousness." Elle Magazine, October 2008

"Mr. Meno's fiction pops with the energy of youth, its purity and heart. . . . Mr. Meno has a finely tuned grasp of the fumblings--romantic, existential and otherwise, that make the up first 25 years of our lives." The New York Observer, July 30, 2008

"These playful, postmodern stories find the Chicago author's artistry reinforced by illustrators who provide divergent perspectives on his prose. . . . The range of illustrations adds to the volume's appeal, but Meno's writing is strong enough to stand on its own." Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2008

DEMONS IN THE SPRING is a collection of twenty short stories with illustrations by twenty artists from the fine art, graphic art, and comic book worlds including Charles Burns, Archer Prewitt, Ivan Brunetti, Jay Ryan, Paul Hornschemeier, Anders Nilsen, Geoff McFedtridge, Kelsey Brookes, Kim Hiorthoy, Chris Uphues, Caroline Hwang, Rachell Sumpter, kozyndan, Evan Hecox, and Cody Hudson. Proceeds from the book will go directly to benefit 826 CHICAGO, a non-profit tutoring center, part of the national organization of tutoring centers.

Exclusive audio download of the book in its entirety is available through Audible.com.