I won an award! I’m over the moon that Robin Black, an author whose work I love, has chosen my short story, “The Hothouse Lounge,” for the Marguerite McGlinn Prize. And how fitting that this particular story should find a home in Philadelphia Stories. It’s the first story I’ve ever set in Philadelphia, this city I live in and love, despite its flaws (some of which are heartbreaking).

One recent morning, my husband picked up his phone and made a puzzled face. He had hundreds of new emails. It turned out a Vimeo staff member had chosen one of his animations, Turkey, as a Staff Pick, and now people were watching it. Lots of people. Since that morning, his video has been viewed over 50,000 times. Being an artist means working without any acknowledgement of your effort a lot of the time. My husband works hard, and he’s motivated to do that because he enjoys making things, but it’s nice to reach a wide audience with what results.