ISBN: 0-932026-50-8 pp., 302

Preface

Hair Trigger 20 collects prose fiction and essays written by undergraduate and graduate students in writing classes at Columbia College Chicago. These classes include Introduction to Fiction Writing, Fiction Writing I, Fiction Writing II, Prose Forms, Advanced Fiction, Creative Nonfiction, and Critical Reading and Writing, all of which are taught using the innovative Story Workshop(r) approach, along with a variety of genre, publishing, and other specialty writing courses.

About Hair Trigger and The Story Workshop Approach

"Hair Trigger walks away with first prize. The magazine is of the highest quality...The writing is thoughtful, realistic, sensual, exciting, and within the vein of the best traditions of American literature...exhibiting a high level of professionalism and seriousness... full of solid, memorable surprises... a most pleasant experience to run across such a variety of themes and subject matters within a single magazine." -From judge's comments on 1993 First Place Award to Hair Trigger 14, in the Associated Writing Programs (AWP) national competition for literary magazines

"A most professional and profound compilation of fiction... this book exemplifies what young American fiction writers are up to in content and in style... The variety of issues, tones, and styles is eloquent and substantial." -From judge's comments on Silver Crown Award to Hair Trigger 19 in the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) 1998 national competition

"Creative, refreshing, original, fascinating, serious... Very professional in concept, in presentation, in seriousness from cover to cover... certainly the best written fiction I've seen in decades. After thirty-two years of judging, I'm refreshed, revived, relieved, that there are those out there who continue to be in love with language, the narrative form, the realism of dialogue."
-From judge's comments on Medalist Award to Hair trigger 18 in the Columbia University scholastic Press Association (CSPA) 1997 national competition