On the Clock: Contemporary Short Stories of Work

by Jeff Vande Zande (Editor), Josh Maday (Editor), Pete Fromm

Fiction. A collection of stories from our top writers which confronts and reveals our working life today, ON THE CLOCK's authors include: Jim Daniels, Bonnie Jo Campbell, Daniel Orozco, Kennebrew Surant, Rick Attig, Lolita Hernandez, Michael Martone, Matthew Salesses, Matt Bell, M. Kaat Toy, Sean Lovelace, Billie Louise Jones, Lita Kurth, Anne Shewring, Dustin Hoffman, Tania Hershman, Nick Kocz, Michael Zadoorian, Steve Himmer, Pete Anderson, Pete Fromm. "Our focus is contemporary writers writing about contemporary work. We also sought to assemble a collection that is as varied as the diversity of the global community by seeking work that is traditional and innovative in both form and content. These stories range from the end of the manufacturing era to our current moment of transition from muscle-to-mind economy, and even speculative fiction that looks toward our possible future as a global human culture from which every imaginable technology will be inextricable, for better and for worse. We are thankful to the writers who share their work with us and we hope this anthology will provoke, encourage, enlighten, and entertain"--from the introduction by Josh Maday.

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Jeff Vande Zande teaches fiction and screenwriting at Delta College. His books include the novel Into the Desperate Country (March Street Press), the novel Landscape with Fragmented Figures (Bottom Dog Press) and Threatened Species and Other Stories (Whistling Shade Press). His novel American Poet won a Michigan Notable Book Award from the Library of Michigan. In May of 2016, Whistling Shade Press released his most recent novel, Detroit Muscle, which was influenced by Vande Zande’s screenwriting knowledge. He maintains a website at authorjeffvandezande.blogspot.com.

Reviews

[Marks54 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories about life at work. I started this in the summer on a tip from someone who had heard one of the authors talk about it. The work scenes range across a variety of settings and there is an emphasis on recessions, layoffs, and outsourced work. The stories are entertaining and several ring true with the lived experience of work. This is an under appreciated genre that does not appear to have a clear identity for looking up stories or writers. I really enjoyed it and will try to find more examples.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong collection of short stories set in a broad range of jobs, from corporate offices to food service and even a circus. Poignant to funny to grim, these stories show workers struggling to survive in a cutthroat and indifferent business world. Based on these stories, I would guess that few writers love their day jobs.