“Washington’s subtle, dynamic and flexible stories play out across [Houston’s] sprawling and multiethnic neighborhoods… An alert and often comic observer of the world… Washington cracks open a vibrant, polyglot side of Houston about which few outsiders are aware… [T]here is a fair amount of joy in Washington’s stories… An underthrob of emotion beats inside them. He’s confident enough not to force the action. The stories feel loose, their cellular juices free to flow.” —Dwight Garner, New York Times

“[S]tunning… Lot paints an unforgettable picture of Houston and the people who call it home…. It’s hard to overstate what an accomplishment Lot is…. Washington does a brilliant job making the city come to life in all its imperfect glory. His book is an instant classic of Texas literature, but it’s more than that — it’s a stunning work of art from a young writer with immense talent and a rare sense of compassion, and one of the strongest literary debuts in several years.”  —NPR

“This eagerly awaited short-story collection, excerpted in The New Yorker to much fanfare, depicts its author’s hometown of Houston with empathy, tragedy, and exceptional specificity.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Washington’s debut reads like a love letter to Houston.” —New York Times

“Lot is Bryan Washington’s debut book, and like…where has he been my whole life?! This collection of stories—all of which take place in Houston—is absolutely gut-wrenching and powerful, and will immediately transport you out of whatever bubble you’re living in.” —Cosmopolitan

“Bryan Washington makes his already much-lauded debut with Lot, a collection of extraordinary short stories set in and across the city of Houston that thrum with vitality and authenticity and are peopled with characters yearning for connection.” —Southern Living

“[F]unny, sad, wise & very alive in the best way.” —Curtis Sittenfeld (Twitter)

“A dynamic portrait of Houston and the people who live there.” —Time

“Lot spills over with life — funny, tender, and profane…. Washington takes characters often consigned to the literary margins and drags them to the center — not as exotic objects of curiosity but as whole human beings, messy and defiant and drawn in full, vibrant color.” —Entertainment Weekly

“The kind of stories I am always longing to read. I love the urgency, honesty, and vitality of Washington’s voice. I love these characters for where they’re from, and where they’re going, what they know, and what they reveal about trouble and love.”
—Justin Torres, author of We the Animals

“A brilliant display of raw talent, with gut-punching stories that deliver with a lasting force. This is the literature that I’ve been waiting for.”
—Nicole Dennis-Benn, author of Here Comes the Sun

“Lot will affect you the way that cherished and, sometimes, painful memories do, with a quality like haunting, a sense that the encounter you’ve had is undeniably real and will stay with you for a very long time. What a thrill to inhabit—to live in, to navigate—the stories and people that make up Bryan Washington’s powerful debut.”
—Jamel Brinkley, author of A Lucky Man

“What a book. This is a generous, powerful, deeply engrossing collection of stories that will crack open your heart then put it back together again. Lot is indelible, and Bryan Washington is an important new talent.”
—R.O. Kwon, author of The Incendiaries

“Lot is the confession of a neighborhood, channeled through a literary prodigy. Bryan Washington doesn’t render a world, he actually captures one, grabs it out of reality and holds it up for you to see it sparkle. Unflinching, romantic while refusing to romanticize, this is the debut of a prodigious talent.”
—Mat Johnson, author of Loving Day and Pym

“Bryan Washington’s voice has risen blazingly from Houston and now commands us to pay attention. Lot is as raw, soulful and moving as a story collection can get. It’s my favorite fiction debut of the year.”
—Jami Attenberg, New York Times bestselling author of The Middlesteins and All Grown Up

“Bryan Washington gets Houston down on the page in a way I haven’t seen before; the city, in his hands, is revealed in all its strange and righteous glory, a fresh sense of youth that’s a pleasure to read. Bryan is a thrilling new voice in American fiction and one to watch.”
—Amelia Gray, author of Isadora and Gutshot

“For those who spent their childhood Sundays at church, Lot is a symbol of God’s capriciousness; for those who didn’t, the word can refer to a quantity, a space, a fate—it depends on the context. The ambiguity and flexibility of the title suits these tales of struggle. As they navigate the bigotry that is so ingrained in American culture and fight against the infinite indignities and frustrations that are inevitable to poverty, these characters experience suffering on a biblical scale. And yet, every story speaks to the tenderness that survives even in harsh, unforgiving places. Lot is divine, a stunning debut that distinguishes Bryan Washington as the voice after the fire.”

—Powell’s Staff Pick