There Is Only Us
Winner of the 2022 Katherine Anne Porter Prize
University of North Texas Press (2022)
“These stories get to the heart of human existence.”
— Daphne Kalotay in the Washington Post
“Wholly original and wildly contemporary, Zoe Ballering’s There Is Only Us moves from the COVID-19 pandemic’s Before Times to the After Times, every story a meticulous and emotionally resonant examination of a rapidly shifting world. Reading it feels like reading the world as it is unfolding, an Ovidian rendering of the cataclysmic changes of our time, with all the accompanying strangeness, pain, and exultation.”
— Polly Buckingham, author of The Expense of a View and series judge
The eight stories of speculative fiction in There Is Only Us explore themes of loneliness, connectedness, and selfhood. Each one is an act of intimacy—an altered world shown through the lens of a close relationship.
In a variety of forms—from a satirical retelling of Noah’s Ark to a sister drama revolving around naked mole rats—There Is Only Us presents a series of escalating scenarios, intimate and yet absurd, that pose the question, how much can you change and still be you?
Additional Praise
“Reality meets quirky, fact meets fantasy in this exemplary collection of avant-garde fiction... The stories fill up physical and emotional voids, confront outrageous loneliness, and overcome devastating psychological dilemmas.”
“[Ballering’s] work is imaginative and speculative, playing with themes like loneliness, pain, and what it means to be human. Characters are at times otherworldly yet believably, lovably real.”
“There Is Only Us is a rock-solid debut from a writer who will surely continue to excel. At its best, Ballering’s work combines limpid human observations with the opacity of larger social and political dilemmas, making for stories that engage readers emotionally and challenge them intellectually. It’s hard to think of a better mode for contemporary science fiction to occupy...”
“Each of the eight stories is engaging and strange, set in real and unreal places, and you won’t regret spending time in Ballering’s mind.”
“Ballering’s speculative fiction takes us on a journey reminiscent of early Vonnegut or Borges. Beautifully imagined stories of what could be.”
“In There Is Only Us, strands of the strange and the familiar intertwine and coalesce around everyday heartbreak and existential speculations. The people in these stories confront questions of identity with profound hope by declaring, ‘Here I am,’ and in doing so remind us that we are not alone. A breathtaking and auspicious debut.”
“There Is Only Us creates worlds that dazzle as they fall apart. These are stories that will stick with you for a long time, reminding you that not only are we connected by our losses, but so too are we bound by love.”
“The stories in There Is Only Us make me rethink everything I know about mothers and daughters, astronauts, Noah’s Ark, dreams, and—yes—mole rats. With tenderness and honesty, Ballering draws out the most human of traits in the most wild of circumstances.”
