Out-of-towners may see Maryland as an oddly shaped Mid-Atlantic state famous for residents’ unmatched love of Old Bay seasoning. A new collection of short fiction wants to get past the stereotypes and explore the state’s fascinating variety, from Baltimore to the Eastern Shore.
The anthology, Ole Blue Claw: Tales from the Crustier Side of Maryland, was put together by local writers Kim Gallagher Moses, Diana Friedman, and Phil Hearn. The three met years ago while in grad school for creative writing at Hopkins and stayed in touch, critiquing each other’s work. “Why do we keep reading each other’s stories?” Gallagher Moses, an Eastern Shore resident, recalls asking the group in 2022. “Why don’t we write a book?”
Their home state was an obvious subject-matter choice—Gallagher Moses had already written stories set at Deep Creek Lake and about classic coastal hobbies like clamming. But the writers were also drawn to Maryland’s grittier charm, which became the book’s focus. “Along with the geography and setting and diversity of the state, we were trying to find what we identify as ‘the crustier side,’ ” says Friedman, who lives in Takoma Park.
Culled from nearly 100 submissions, the book includes 23 short stories from published and emerging Maryland authors, roughly a third of whom live in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. From the shore of Ocean City to the trails of Patapsco Valley State Park to the inner city of Baltimore, characters navigate subjects like unrequited love, self discovery, and substance abuse. “Connecting with Jesus Near Iverson Mall,” by Preston Ford, describes three friends—one of whom is Jesus Christ reincarnate—whose car breaks down in Hillcrest Heights on a sweltering summer day. “Craig Green Is Dead,” by Greta Ehrig, tells the story of another highway blunder. In one scene, the narrator is so nervous while driving to meet a date that she accidentally merges onto the inner loop of the Beltway, forcing her to cross the Potomac River into Virginia.
The project is entirely local—from its editors and writers, to the cover artist, publisher, and funding sources. Arlington-based Paycock Press is publishing the book and the Maryland State Arts Council partly supported it through two grants. Through its search for the crustier side of the state, Gallagher Moses says, the group “discovered that Maryland was a much larger state, broader, funnier, and more emotionally complicated than expected.”
Ole Blue Claw: Tales from the Crustier Side of Maryland will debut with a free reading at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda on November 14 and is available for preorder on the project’s website.
