My collected short stories, THINGS KEPT, THINGS LEFT BEHIND , won the 2006 Iowa Short Fiction Award . The competition was juried through the Iowa Writers Workshop. The finals judge was George Saunders. University of Iowa Press published the book.
Chicago Sun-Times Jan 14, 2007 -- "Pride and family honor ring throughout these stories as Tomlinson's characters escape what is bred in the bone, only to be pulled back to a remote, guarded life so ingrained that it can never totally be exorcised. ... Tomlinson's tales capture the desires and dreams of small-town, working-class America with heart, humor and a bit of sadness." Full text of review
December, 2006 -- My short story, "Stainless," has been nominated by The Pinch Journal for a 2006 Pushcart Prize, joining "First Husband, First Wife" among this year's nominees. Both stories are in the collection Things Kept, Things Left Behind.
New York Times Nov 23, 2006 -- [Reviewed jointly with Kevin Moffett's Permanent Visitors] "In the tradition of many classic story collections -- from the Deep South backroads of Flannery O'Connor's short masterpieces to the sleepy towns of Huron County, Ontario, found in Alice Munro's exquisite work--both of these books are deeply rooted in a sense of place. [Tomlinson] does a first-rate job of bringing his characters to life. He also skillfully packs suspenseful plot turns into these economical stories." Full text of the review
Hartford Courant Nov 19, 2006 -- "His familiarity with life in small towns informs his first collection, "Things Kept, Things Left Behind," but there's a more universal place he knows well. That is the country of marriage, visited here often and with insight." Full text of review
Esquire Magazine (November, 2006) recommends Things Kept, Things Left Behind ~~ "short stories that prove the best fiction need not be more than 60 pages."
Kirkus Reviews Starred review -- "Winner of the Iowa Short Fiction Award, this well-worked debut collection of 11 stories delineates life wrenching milestones: divorce, moving, the death of a parent. ...Tomlinson's characters ring true and utterly human. A wonderful collection notable for its clean prose and tone of quiet, stubborn dignity." Full text of review
Publishers Weekly review -- "A rural Kentucky where pride and familial honor are sacrosanct, old flames don't extinguish quietly and secrets are hard to keep centers Tomlinson's debut story collection. In the finely wrought "Flights," a writer sits at his father's bedside transcribing the dying man's remembrances, but a cunning shift in perspective shows the real power they hold for the son. The companion stories "Things Kept" and "Things Left Behind" examine what can be salvaged in marriage and what can't. ..." Full text of review
Providence Journal Oct 22, 2006 -- "Tomlinson’s dogged, careful prose always treats his characters with the dignity they try to imagine in themselves. He understands their pride and their foolishness and never condescends to them. He keeps his calm distance from their churning emotions and souls but treats them gently, humanly. They are not figures of fun but human creatures often trapped in the webs of their own devising. And we come to know them, to respect them, and see ourselves — alas! — in them."
"With his flawless ear for speech and great compassion and wisdom regarding measures of the human heart, Tomlinson drops us right into lives and situations that mesmerize and stun and shock each and every time. A perfect collection of headshots and heartshots from a gifted first-rate storyteller." ~~Jill McCorkle
"Jim Tomlinson uses the traditional gifts of the writer -- love of place, a keen eye for the telling detail, unflagging interest in the human heart -- to bring to life a very specific and eye-opening version of America, particularly working-class, rural America. In Things Kept, Things Left Behind, his care for these people and his generosity toward them are evident on every page." ~~George Saunders
"Jim Tomlinson's Things Kept, Things Left Behind is a splendid debut collection of short stories that explores the enduring theme of quest for an identity. Though deeply connected to the spirit of small towns, these stories reveal aspects of the human condition that have universal resonance. This is an impressive first book in a venerable series by a very talented new voice in American fiction. ~~Robert Olen Butler, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain.
Booklist review -- "Tomlinson, recipient of the 2006 Iowa Short Fiction Award, has crafted a debut collection around characters who cannot let go of their past, from a woman who finds herself trapped again with her first big mistake to a returning soldier who finally feels capable of exacting revenge for a long-ago family tragedy. Tomlinson’s characters struggle to escape their personal histories but are thwarted by a paralyzing inability to do so. In some cases, the history is not even directly their own but that of those they care about; still, the protagonists are deeply affected and unable, or unwilling, to recognize its debilitating effects. In the final story, an epistolary tale between two friends that covers more than four decades, Tomlinson directs his characters from young adulthood in the turbulent 1960s to retirement and an awareness that childhood aspirations have long ago collided with adult realities. Like everyone else in the collection, they must accept the way things are before they can change them."
Look for my fiction in The Pinch, Five Points, Shenandoah Review, Bellevue Literary Review, The Potomac Review, and late this year in TARTTS 2, an anthology from Livingston Press.
My web site: jim-tomlinson.com
My writer's journal: JimT's Writer's Journal