God Isn't Here Today

WINNER OF THE 2023 RELIT AWARD FOR SHORT FICTION

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 INDIGENOUS VOICES AWARDS

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 CAROL SHIELDS PRIZE FOR FICTION

For fans of Chuck Palahniuk, Joyce Carol Oates, and Karen Russell, the stories in Francine Cunningham’s debut collection God Isn’t Here Today
ricochet between form and genre, taking readers on a dark, irreverent,
yet poignant journey led by a unique and powerful new voice.

Driven by desperation into moments of transformation, Cunningham’s
characters are presented with moments of choice—some for the better and
some for the worse. A young man goes to God’s office downtown for
advice; a woman discovers she is the last human on Earth; an ice cream
vendor is driven insane by his truck’s song; an ageing stripper uses
undergarments to enact her escape plan; an incubus tires of his
professional grind; and a young woman inherits a power that has survived
genocide, but comes with a burden of its own.

Even as they flirt with the fantastic, Cunningham’s stories unfold
with the innate elegance of a spring fern, reminding us of the inherent
dualities in human nature—and that redemption can arise where we least
expect it.