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Joe Meno

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://joemeno.com/

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Influences

William Faulkner, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Toni Morrison, Kurt Vonnegut ...more

Member Since

November 2007

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Joe Meno is a fiction writer and playwright who lives in Chicago. A winner of the Nelson Algren Literary Award, the Great Lakes Book Award, a Pushcart Prize, the Society of Midland Author's Fiction Prize, and a finalist for the Story Prize, he is the author of seven novels and two short story collections. He is also the editor of Chicago Noir: The Classics. A long-time contributor to the seminal culture magazine, Punk Planet, his other non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times and Chicago magazine. He is a professor in the Department of Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. ...more

42 posts
Joe Meno's Blog

Short fiction, first published by The Rumpus as part of their letter in the mail experiment.

Combine Editions
Joe Meno’s books

Average rating: 3.73 · 20,516 ratings · 2,653 reviews · 83 distinct works • Similar authors

	Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books) 3.73 avg rating — 5,975 ratings — published 2004 — 24 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Boy Detective Fails 3.90 avg rating — 3,285 ratings — published 2006 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Office Girl 3.19 avg rating — 2,523 ratings — published 2012 — 19 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Great Perhaps 3.57 avg rating — 1,747 ratings — published 2009 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How the Hula Girl Sings 3.64 avg rating — 847 ratings — published 2001 — 11 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Demons in the Spring 4.04 avg rating — 690 ratings — published 2008 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tender as Hellfire 3.80 avg rating — 681 ratings — published 1999 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Book of Extraordinary Tragedies 4.01 avg rating — 377 ratings — published 2022 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Marvel and a Wonder 3.68 avg rating — 391 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir 3.90 avg rating — 344 ratings — published 2005 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Joe Meno…

His Favorite Books About Artists in Love: The avant-garde meets bohemian passion in these selections from the author of the counterculture romance...

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Joe’s Recent Updates

Joe Meno wrote a new blog post Video essay about trying to destroy yourself through music. Video essay about trying to destroy yourself through music.
Jan 23, 2026 01:37PM · like

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Quotes by Joe Meno (?)

“What I've learned is that there is nothing in this life that does not fail to disappoint us, even our own deaths.”
― Joe Meno, The Boy Detective Fails

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“Where do you go when you die? Ha ha. Go on, go on and tell her, Billy."

Billy smiles. "You become a little voice in someone's ear telling them that things will be alright.”
― Joe Meno, The Boy Detective Fails

20 likes

“The most important things in your life are almost always impossible to predict.”
― Joe Meno, The Boy Detective Fails

20 likes

See all Joe Meno's quotes »

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