Machael Garriga comes from a long line of Creole outlaws and storytellers. He has worked as a shrimp picker, a bartender, and a soundman in a blues bar. The Book of Duels is his first collection of fiction, but his work has appeared extensively in journals and magazines including Esquire, Huffington Post, New Letters, Black Warrior Review, and the Southern Review. He currently teaches writing at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio.
This collection of flash fiction asks what motivations have led individuals throughout history—from Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr, to Cain and Abel, to John Henry and the steam drill—to risk it all. Taking a broad historical view, but allowing for more intimate scenes as well, these stories probe our notions of pride, honor, vengeance, and satisfaction.
