on a distant ridgeline
Sam Reese
978-1-913007-13-3 · 192 pages · 129 × 198 mm · Sep. 2021
In his second collection, on a distant ridgeline, Sam Reese creates twelve vivid and tenderly drawn tales with moments and memories that linger just out of reach. Between the past and present and potential reconciliations—and with a keen eye on the subtle balance of human connection—relationships and their fractured qualities are central to this new gathering of stories.

Hailing from Aotearoa, Sam Reese is an award-winning writer, critic, and teacher. Currently a lecturer in creative writing at York St John University, he is the author of the short story collection Come the Tide and non-fiction books on jazz, literature and loneliness, American short fiction, and Cold War politics.
Praise & Reviews
The quiet power of these stories lies in their intimacy and tenderness.
— Naomi Booth
An ardent observer of the understated, Reese’s expansive stories amplify life’s quiet moments in crisp, clear prose. A bright, new collection that glimmers and shines.
— Ryan Ridge
A book of richly detailed place, with characters that are afraid, and searching, and determined, and flawed, and utterly, finally, human, Reese has given us a handful of jewels, flashing bright under a grey sky. I savoured every word.
— Lindsay Hunter
One to watch this year.
— Daisy Johnson
… this is one of those collections where there are no misses.
– Charles Heathcote, Youtube
Excerpts
- Small Homes — Selcouth Station
- An Experience — Fairlight Shorts
- Magpies — Bookanista
- I Go Astray — Shorts
Misc.
- Author interview — neverimitate
- ‘On Short Story Characters’ — Selcouth Station
- ‘Turns: On Writing’ — Here Comes Everyone
- Rate or review the book on Goodreads