Amelia Franz’s The Longest Man-Made Beach In The World: Biloxi Stories is now available from Watertower Press.
Set against the bright sand, murky waters, and barrier islands of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, this “strong, vivid” (–Kirkus Reviews) short story collection honors working-class lives shaped by loss, longing, and desperation.
A mother and son search for a missing father in the seedy bars and strip clubs of Dixie Mafia-era Biloxi Beach.
A grieving brother seeks solace in the post-Katrina ruins of a once-glamorous hotel.
A ceremony honoring Biloxi’s civil rights wade-ins troubles a White woman’s conscience.
An immigrant oyster cannery worker faces an impossible decision.
Unsentimental yet radically compassionate, this “exceptional debut” (Mary Miller, author of Biloxi: A Novel and Always Happy Hour: Stories) establishes Amelia Franz as a powerful new voice in contemporary Southern fiction.
You can purchase The Longest Man-Made Beach In The World: Biloxi Stories at Bookshop.org, or your favorite online bookseller.
And make plans to join us on Friday, May 22, 2026 at Bird In Hand for an evening with three Baltimore-based writers: Emily Decker, Michele Evans, and Amelia Franz! Learn more and RSVP by clicking here.