Author Archives: Julia Halprin Jackson

About Julia Halprin Jackson

Julia Halprin Jackson's fiction, nonfiction, and poetry has appeared in anthologies by SMITH Mag, Flatmancrooked, Beyond Words Publishing, Scribes Valley Publishing, the American Diabetes Association, and literary journals such as California Northern, Fourteen Hills, Sacramento News & Review, sPARKLE & bLINK, Catalyst and Spectrum. In addition, she is completing her first book, a collection of 100 one-hundred-word stories, many of which can be read at her blog. Several of these stories have been included in the Second Saturday Revel Art show at the Sacramento Gay and Lesbian Center. Julia has worked on literary magazines and journals in the past, and written copy for online institutions and publications, including SF State's College of Creative Arts and SMITH Mag's Memoirville blog. Her radio work includes internships at KALW News' Crosscurrents program and Forum with Michael Krasny at KQED, the NPR affiliate in San Francisco. Julia is completing her M.A. in Creative Writing (fiction) at UC Davis in June 2012.

3 Flash Fiction Stories: No Vacancy, The Cliff, Caving

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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climbing

No Vacancy Night falls over Crater Lake, that blue gully with its mouth open to the heavens. The man and woman approach the summit as the rain drops like marbles. The campgrounds are full, as are the chalets; there aren’t any hotel rooms this close to the crater’s rim. What if we could make it to the island? she says. It’s probably vacant. When he doesn’t answer, she puts the car in reverse, aims for the rim’s biggest lip. Floor it, he says. Rain steers … There’s More… →

La Madrugada

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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lamadrugada

It happened our third week of yoga. Our teacher Agathe, who was German but taught in Spanish, thought the man was sleeping through the meditation session. I wonder, now, if we should have known, if his body had emitted some secretive and special cue, some sign that the 60-year-old in white Lycra had, in fact, passed away, arms outstretched, mouth wide open, in the middle of class. He was so still, so calm. We should have known. I was lying closest to him. After working … There’s More… →

Traveler

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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traveler

“I swear I had no idea she was even in town!” Cy says. His face is flushed. Little beads of sweat dot his brow. “It was rush hour, and were both crammed into the same tiny little subway car, and I thought I’d fallen into some kind of time trap or something, because I haven’t seen Gabrielle in years.” He’s still standing in the door frame of our little apartment, jiggling his briefcase with one hand and absentmindedly twirling his mustache with the other. “It … There’s More… →

Reunion

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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Deer in the Wild

Emily didn’t recognize our cousin Judy at the last family reunion. It wasn’t really her fault; at sixteen Judy was eight years older than her, and her hair was a newly minted green, a chartreuse as brilliant as Emily’s soccer jersey, which she wore every day that summer. What’s more, Judy wore eye shadow, though not on her eyes; she crushed the purple powder into big puffs on each cheek and painted yellow petals that dripped down as far as her smile. I’ll never forget … There’s More… →

For My Brother

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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formybrotherbyjuliahalprinjackson

You’re leaving. You are tall lizard shorts, backflips, cereal in a mixing bowl, calzones on a steamy oven afternoons, It’s a Real Cool Club And You’re Not a Part of It. You who didn’t mind waiting for me in the beginning snowboarding class, you who tune in to  World Cup soccer on the Mexican channel, you who stood with the mules and sombreros in Tijuana, you who got air jumping off snow, rock, sand, camping stakes, out of trees, off cliffs and bridges.  And after … There’s More… →

Tupperware Can Do Almost Anything

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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Tupperware, by Julia Halprin Jackson

“Believe it or not,” I say, hoisting the ice chest over my head, “I cannot control the river.” “Yeah, whatever,” Samantha says. “Just get us out of here.” She stands on the levee in a black and purple bikini, rubbing her arms across her chest. Her eyebrows furrow and her freckles have already darkened in the six hours we’ve spent on the water. Today’s adventures are not gaining me any points as a potential boyfriend. “Why’s it always my fault?” I balance the ice chest … There’s More… →

Werewolf

  By Julia Halprin Jackson |
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Werewolf, by Julia Halprin Jackson

Things began to change when I made the trek out to Patty’s cabin in the woods, and she let the wild man in. To her nothing is wild—to her, wildness is potential. He had long black hair tied into a loose ponytail; his jeans were likewise loose, loose in a way that made me viscerally uncomfortable, though to his credit he was wearing a belt, which cinched his effeminate waist. His countenance was neither threatening, nor was it specific; to use one of Patty’s new … There’s More… →