The McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern has been around since 1998, when Dave Eggers started the not-quite-quarterly journal to publish his own work as well as pieces by his friends, many of which (the pieces by his (Dave Eggers’) friends) had been rejected by other literary journals. Over the years, the QC has evolved from a simple paperback volume into a changeable format, which ranges anywhere from an extremely attractive hardcover edition to a cigar box filled with pamphlets and has begun to showcase not only some of the most exceptional and creative contemporary writing but also the work of many fine artists.

QC21 is another great issue. Every piece in this volume is outstanding—and funny—although these authors stood out to me: Miranda July, Joyce Carol Oates, Yannick Murphy (can’t wait for her Mata Hari book), Roddy Doyle, A. Nathan West, and Rajesh Parameswaran. In order to keep pace with its recent quirkiness, each piece in QC21 is followed by an actual letter received by the office of Ray Charles at various dates throughout 1999 and preceded by a 12-panel illustration of an artists’ (different for each story) rendition of events in the piece, while the front cover of the book has a small flap that can be opened out across the exposed page-edges, creating a 360-degree panorama around the entire volume. If you are fiction-dependent, QC21 is perfect for your daily fix.