ISBN: 0-932026-31-1 pp., 514

The Best of Hair Trigger collects undergraduate and graduate prose from Hair Triggers 1-14. Hair Trigger 3 and Hair Trigger 8 won first prize as the best college literary magazine in the country, in the Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines 1979 and 1986 national contests.

In making the selections, the editors were forced to choose among writings of virtually equal merit, because the size of the book would not allow for the publication of all the eligible pieces. Many of these stories and essays have repeatedly demonstrated their usefulness in the writing classroom, in helping students learn how to write. A wide range of content is available in this collection. The writings are characterized by respect for the reader, for content, form, point of view and language.

A few essays appear here that were written when the authors were enrolled in undergraduate classes and their writings were, for one reason or another, never a part of the Hair Trigger selection process. Since they superbly fulfill particular forms, they are included in this anthology.

NOTE: A selection may be included under the heading of one form, yet fulfill other forms in some part of its execution. For instance, in the How-It-Happens sequence, how-to-do-it-betters, model tellings, letters on behalf of the opposite, letters on behalf of one's self, and other forms may appear.

The lively, affecting, sometimes outrageously funny writings in this book have already demonstrated that they are a delight to read and stimulating to use in the teaching of writing.

John Schultz, Editor and Professor Emeritus, and Shawn Shiflett, Editor and Faculty Coordinator, Fiction Writing Department, Columbia College Chicago

About the Student Writings in Hair Trigger :

"Superior fiction... One great strength of most of this writing is its unrelenting realism... large doses for a CSPA judge who has tired of reading about unicorns, rainbows, lollipops and BMW's... a great and jolting tonic. I love it that your writers do not blanch before words or topics which would send Jesse Helms into Code Blue." -From judges' comments, Columbia University Scholastic Press Association's 1990 national competition, in which Hair Trigger 12 won a Silver Crown Award

"Big, energetic, original throughout.. Some of the best work we've seen... exhibiting precise, cerebral concepts in writing." -From judges' comments, Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines 1985 national contest, in which Hair Trigger 8 was awarded first prize as best college literary magazine in the country

"Some of the best writing we've seen... Each story is fresh, evolving with its own energy, its own design. There is no reliance on formulae or quick tricks. The writing is blessedly unselfconscious and full of human understanding... Imagery is quick, clear, powerful... Language use is almost flawless." -From judge's comments on Medalist Award to Hair Trigger 13, in the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) 1991 national competition

"Excellent prose writing. Serious professional concerns." -From judges' comments, Coordinating Council of Literary Magazines 1979 national contest, in which Hair Trigger 3 was awarded first prize as best college literary magazine in the country.