Reviews for Easiest if I Had a Gun

Coal Hill Review

If I’ve ever encountered a title that instantly sets the tone for a story collection, it’s “Shit Weasel is Late for Class.” Read More. 

Kirkus Review

"A moving, entertaining set of a stories from a notable new voice." Read More. 

The Spark Review

"What sets this collection apart from familiar stories about hard factory work and harder home lives is the self-awareness of the characters." Read More. 

Weave Magazine Review

"At his best, Martin proves himself to be a master of a tightly contained form." Read More. 

News

Michael Gerhard Martin, Easiest If I Had a Gun, and Pablo Medina, The Weight of the Island -   Porter Square Books

Babson Instructor Michael Gerhard Martin Authors New Book of Short Stories - Press Release

2013 Fiction & Poetry Contest Winners Announced! - Bayou Magazine

Awards, Grants, and Residencies

• Contributing Participant, Sewanee Writer’s Conference, July 2015
• Best of Show, Marblehead Arts Festival, “Gretel” (short fiction), July 1, 2015 
• Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend 2015.  $5,000 awarded to continue work on the novel Bridgeville
• Short-listed, 2015 Disquiet Short Play Contest, “Jesus in the Bin,” The Disquiet International Literary Program in Lisbon, Portugal, March 2015 
• Winner, Theater of Words & Music/Salem Literary Festival micro-fiction contest, November 2014 Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend 2014.  $5,000 awarded to work on the final draft and pre-publication of Easiest If I Had A Gun: Stories
• Distinguished Service Award (15 Years), The Johns Hopkins University Center For Talented Youth Summer Programs, March 2014 
• Winner, James Knudsen Prize for Fiction, “Shit Weasel is Late for Class” (short fiction), University of New Orleans’ Bayou Magazine, February 2014 
• Finalist, The Tennessee Williams Literary Festival Fiction Prize, “Shit Weasel is Late for Class” (short fiction), February 2014 (withdrawn due to winning Knudsen Prize above) 
• Finalist, The Iowa Short Fiction & John Simmons Short Fiction Awards, The Strange Ways People Are: Stories (short fiction collection, retitled Easiest If I Had A Gun), January 2014 
• Semi-finalist, The Hudson Prize, The Strange Ways People Are: Stories (short fiction collection), Black Lawrence Press, Summer 2013 
• Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend 2013.  $5,000 awarded to continue work on the novel Bridgeville
• Finalist, The Nelligan Award For Short Fiction, “Made Just for Ewe!” (short fiction), The Colorado Review, Spring 2012 
• Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend, 2012.  $5,000 awarded to write the short fiction “It Would Be Easiest If I Had a Gun,” later published as “Shit Weasel is Late for Class” Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend, 2011.  $4,000 awarded to continue work on the novel Bridgeville
• Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend, 2010. $5,000 awarded to write the short fiction, “Made Just For Ewe!” 
• Babson Faculty Research Fund summer stipend, 2009. $5,000 awarded to write the introduction to a novel with the working title Bridgeville
• Finalist, Glimmer Train New Writer’s Contest, “The Strange Ways People Are” (short fiction), Spring 2002