Jessica Mannion

Jessica Mannion was raised in Alaska and somehow managed to survive the bears and moose long enough to escape to Brooklyn, New York, where she resides with her husband, a filmmaker, and two cats who don't contribute anything meaningful to the household except fur and cuteness. She's spent her life running away from writing because it's “not sensible” and “not a real job,” but you don't choose the writing life, the writing life chooses you. She is currently working on a YA novel and many, many short stories. Her essays, reviews and poems can be found in publications such as Pank, The Literary Review, and Alliterati Magazine. Her poem "Critic" won the University of Alaska's Hayden Carruth Award in 2004.

Actors Therapy

Amaryllis stood in the rain, squinting at the little blue dot on her phone that showed her location. The cracked screen was barely readable, and the rain didn’t help. It was the correct address all right, and nicer than where most auditions were held. The lobby was very warm and very posh, with doormen, a security desk, and turnstiles that allowed entry only when security pressed a button.
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