Overview

Unknown & Other Stories invites readers into a world that feels at once familiar and quietly uncanny. These interconnected stories unfold in kitchens and living rooms, along coastal paths and small towns-ordinary settings where something subtly extraordinary is about to happen. Characters drift between certainty and doubt, connection and solitude, as imagination bends reality just enough to reveal hidden truths. Lyrical, reflective, and gently surreal, these stories explore identity, authorship, and the mysterious ways stories shape who we are. A woman appears without explanation. A writer wonders whether he has created more than fiction. Acts of kindness ripple outward, altering lives in ways both tender and unsettling. With wry humor and compassionate insight, these are modern fables that resist easy answers and reward careful attention.

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Reviews

Imaginative and beautifully written, these interlocked stories all explore the idea of the masks people wear. Whether centered on a metaphor about juggling, fountain pens, letters, food, miming, they connect not only to one another but also to our own lives. They make us think, and that is a good thing. -Sharon L. Dean, author Six Old Women and Other Stories Barry Vitcov's collection Unknown & Other Stories offers enchantingly nuanced tales that will make you stop and think about the world, your life, and reality itself. The book comprises five connected sets of stories, which novella-like draw the reader into the lives of some extraordinary characters. In his Unknown Stories, we get a taste of magical realism and meet a mysterious woman who may or may not be real. In the Quackers Stories, members of a pick-up musical group called the ""Weird Duck Pond Ensemble Gone Quackers"" discover who they are. TheMort, Micah, and Jordan Storiesare centered at The Nosh and Kvetch Bagel Shop, where the title characters show us the importance of kind gestures and of choosing to be connected with others. And The Lucy Stories are about determination and standing up for yourself and for others. Each story will make you think, and each set of stories cohere with rich character ensembles and are textured with music, food, and movement-from juggling to mime to a punch in the face. -Edwin Battistella, author of Sorry about That Nothing is quite what it seems in Barry Vitcov's Unknown & Other Stories. In this collection, clusters of linked stories draw together characters who are at once quirky and wholly recognizable. You will meet elves and mimes, jugglers and musicians, as they uncover mysteries and emotions both unique and universal, from the persistent ache of regret to unexpected gifts of kindness. Written with a poet's sensibility for language and atmosphere, Vitcov's collection will immerse readers in the power of story and the magic of the unknown. -Midge Raymond, author of Floreana and My Last Continent In a tale that blends mystery with a touch of magic, an unknown woman appears at an author's Sea Ranch door. So begins our journey into the writer's imagination and the creation of story. Barry Vitcov's narratives are warmly woven with a delightfully delicious humanity. His stories explore the music of coming together in concert, coping with loss through distance and time, and finally resting on the bafflement of bigotry. Mr. Vitcov's writings are a tribute to the subtle power of story to engage and to illuminate. -Peter Alzado, actor, director, producer

Author Information

Barry Vitcov lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife and exceptionally brilliant standard poodle. His poetry and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications, including: EAP: The Magazine, Literary Yard, The Scarlet Review, Fiction on the Web, Labyrinth, Mobius Blvd., Black Sheep, Dark Horses, Jefferson Review, and The Rapids: An Art & Literature Journal of Southern Oregon. He has had five books published by Finishing Line Press, a collection of poetry, Where I Live Some of the Time (2021); a collection of short stories, The Wilbur Stories & More (2022); a chapbook collection of poems Structures (2024); a novella The Boy with Six Fingers (2025), and a poetry chapbook Boychik Poems (2026).

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