Judge Jodi

The judge for SN&R’s 2006 Flash Fiction contest is herself an accomplished writer of short fiction. Sacramento resident Jodi Angel’s first collection of short stories, The History of Vegas, was one of the San Francisco Chronicle’s selections for the best books of 2005—an honor that put her in the company of a number of literary luminaries, including Sacramento’s National Book Award winner William T. Vollmann.

SN&R contributor Alex Baca described Angel’s first collection as stories that “are for all of us who haven’t escaped adolescence unscathed” (“Just a phase,” SN&R Arts&Culture; July 28, 2005). The teenagers and young adults in The History of Vegas are doing the best they can in circumstances that Wally and the Beav would find unimaginable—and they do it while keeping both their wits and their sense of humor intact.

Angel, who has a master’s degree from UC Davis, has published stories in Zoetrope: All-Story and Carve Magazine, among other publications. She is currently at work on a second collection of stories.