Hair Trigger 2.0 Issue One

INTRODUCTION
Hair Trigger first found its home in the Fiction Writing Department of the Department of
Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. For nearly four decades, the annual anthology
has published and celebrated the work found in Columbia’s fiction classes—work that is colorful
and vibrant, boisterous sometimes and quiet others, and unwavering in its exploration into
vulnerabilities, into the hidden truths that, seemingly, only fiction can unearth. Numerous
individual works from the anthology have been awarded Gold Circle Awards from the Columbia
Scholastic Press Association.
Beyond the accolades, Hair Trigger has inspired incoming students, still struggling to take
risks and find their authorial voices; it has inspired veterans of the department who can see
published writers as their peers—and not hold such accomplishments up as long sought-after
pipe dreams.
Honoring the past but looking to the future, Hair Trigger 2.0 hopes to broaden the scope of
its predecessor to foster a creative environment indicative of today’s diverse contemporary fiction.
The stories and authors included in this inaugural issue come from a variety of backgrounds—
different countries, different continents, some writers, some teachers—all pursuing a love for
writing.
Special thanks to our inaugural issue contributors: Shannon Peavey, Tendai Huchu,
Shebana Coelho and Lee Foust, and for her photography, Maria Rebelo. And to our readers—we
hope you enjoy. Best wishes to Hair Trigger 2.0 on creative excellence.
Jennifer Bostrom, Editor-in-Chief
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