A young woman transforms after an unspeakable loss. A recent divorcee discovers a new life. An aging mother fears losing everything she loves, while another abandons her children at Starbucks. First Kicking, Then Not introduces these women and many more, all of whom are hungry to know who they are outside the expectations of others.
Hannah Grieco's captivating debut fiction collection acts as a mirror: Who looks back? Who do you want to see?
Hannah Grieco is a writer, editor, and teacher in Washington, DC. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, The Independent, Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, Brevity, Craft, Poet Lore, Shenandoah, Fairy Tale Review, The Offing, and more. She writes a monthly literary column for the Washington City Paper and edits prose for a variety of independent presses and literary journals. Find her online at www.hgrieco.com and on most social media @writesloud.
Paperback, perfect bound with spine.
112 pages.
To be published: August 12, 2025
ISBN: 979-8-89692-801-0
Advanced Praise for First Kicking, Then Not
"Hannah Grieco's First Kicking, Then Not features hot flashes of horror and humor; the funniest, heart-breaking-est, most empathetic portrayal of a psychotic break I've ever read; and so much insight into the monstrosity that is modern motherhood that I considered running away for a day. This book will devour you in one sitting." — Eman Quotah, author of Bride of the Sea and The Night Is Not for You
****
"Fierce and funny, wildly imaginative and deeply moving, Hannah Grieco’s first collection proves she is already a master of the short story. Like David Lynch, she has an eye for the spooky undercurrents of everyday life; like Mary Gordon, she’s clear-eyed in her depictions of domesticity and its woman-traps. But the wit, humanity, and the incisive intelligence here are all her own. First Kicking, Then Not is a wild and haunting ride." — Rose Solari, author of The Last Girl and A Secret Woman, and co-founder of Alan Squire Publishing
****
"If Amber Sparks had a twin who also wrote with a knife, it would be Hannah Grieco. These stories are sharp, twisted, and honest. Grieco writes with courage and clarity, but most timely, she tells stories with an unflinching and gracious heart." — Melissa Scholes Young, author of Flood and The Hive
****
"I’ve been waiting for a book from Hannah Grieco for YEARS. Now that First Kicking, Then Not is here, it’s even more marvelous than I hoped. Her stories are perfectly crafted packages containing our shifting selfhoods. She gifts us discomfort and unease. She offers a wink and a laugh. She has an uncanny knack for picking the exact right moment to unsettle us and then resettle us in a position of greater understanding—greater wisdom. I love everything Hannah Grieco writes, and I think you will, too." – Zach Powers, author of The Migraine Diaries