Imagine a moonlit railroad track, a rural road and barn covered with just a dusting of snow, a hound dog asleep by the woodstove, and a Red Ryder BB gun hidden behind the tinseled tree―all the makings of an unforgettable Indiana Christmas. In An Indiana Christmas , editor Bryan Furuness brings together timeless short stories, poems, plays, and letters to help you get into the holiday spirit. Lose yourself in classics like "In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash" by Jean Shepherd, which inspired the beloved movie A Christmas Story , and "A Feel in the Christmas Air" by James Whitcomb Riley, along with more recent literary works like "The Myth of the Perfect Christmas Photo Family" by Kelsey Timmerman and "While Mortals Sleep" by famed Indiana writer Kurt Vonnegut. To achieve the perfect combination of Christmas nostalgia and cheer, Furuness has curated Hoosier stories that allow you to experience an idyllic holiday gathering in "Indiana Winter" by Susan Neville, feel the excitement of a child on Christmas Eve with "Earthbound" by Barbara Shoup, and face the loneliness of a drifter on Christmas night in "Howard Garfield, Balladeer" by Edward Porter. The collection even offers the chance to read a Christmas war dispatch from the late, great Hoosier journalist Ernie Pyle. Heartfelt and unique, An Indiana Christmas paints a picture of what Hoosiers truly hold dear. Family, love, giving, hope, and faith shine through these poignant stories, which are sure to put you in good spirits for the holidays. "Having spent every Christmas of my life in Indiana, I can safely say An Indiana Christmas captures not only the spirit of Indiana, but the magic of Christmas. A gift of a book!"―Philip Gulley, Indiana writer "You will find the spirit of Christmas in frozen fields, candle-lit faces, and wood-burning stoves; it's there on chicken farms, in barns where suspended dust looks holy, and in songs echoing alleluias. The spirit sits before us at extended dining room tables snug with family, friends, casseroles, crockpots, and plates stamped with holly. In these stories, essays, and poems, some of our best Indiana authors gift us with writing that glimmers, shining a light on who we were and who we are. An Indiana Christmas is a curl-up book you'll savor year after year."―Margaret McMullan, author of Where the Angels Lived " An Indiana Christmas is more than just a nostalgic parade of the old Hoosier masters―the clever plotting of Meredith Nicholson, the homey sweetness of Gene Stratton Porter or Jessamyn West, George Ade's hilarious smart-ass style, James Whitcomb Riley's classic quaintness. This collection's newer authors, like Kurt Vonnegut, Barbara Shoup, and Susan Neville, show us that Indiana remains a bottomless gift bag of good literature."―James Alexander Thom, bestselling author " An Indiana Christmas is a real treat, a guest list for the ideal Hoosier literary Yuletide dinner party . . . old friends sharing the table with charming new company. Any home in the state would do itself proud to have this delightful book placed above the hearth, at the ready for aloud sampling throughout the holiday season."―Nathan Montoya, Proprietor, Village Lights Bookstore "A grand and thrilling selection of Hoosier writing presented through the fraught lens of Christmas. Both the new voices and the Pulitzer Prize winners here remind us of the dangers of nostalgia while also giving license to the deepest pleasures of memory. This is a fascinating and utterly enjoyable read, and I'm sure I'll pick it up again over many Christmases to come."―Michael Dahlie, author of A Gentleman's Guide to Graceful Living "The stories, poems, and essays in An Indiana Christmas will stay with you long after reading, no matter the season. The anthology brings to life all manner of Hoosiers: bearing casseroles, pierogi, and trifles; snowblowing neighbors' driveways just because; losing and finding religion; and posing as Santa or his grinchy counterpart. You'll see yourself in this book made by, for, and about people searching for identity in a place as complex as any."―Sarah Layden, author of Trip Through Your Wires "In this anthology, Furuness has successfully captured both the uniqueness and the universality of an Indiana Christmas. Some experiences―like a child's wish for a Red Ryder BB gun―transcend time, age, and circumstance; others―like Susan Neville's depiction of a country Christmas party―remind longtime Hoosiers of holiday gatherings as reprieves from dark, cold nights in a "landlocked state." The collection brings Indiana's great writers―past and present―into conversation with each other, exploring the way in which this special time of year connects us with community and, ultimately, brings us home."―Megan Telligman, Program Manager, Indiana Humanities "Indiana's deep literary heritage is celebrated in a new anthology with a seasonal theme. . . . In all this collection covers a variety of emotions and literary styles. All