Exceptionally Bad

EXCEPTIONALLY BAD is a collection of connected short pieces by Tracy Mumford, illustrated by Anne Lane. The first line of every story is a fragment of the real life of an historical figure — a series of wild, undercover exploits. Then the truth stops, and the universes spin. Editor Ross Nervig crafted and dispensed these first line prompts to the author and illustrator without revealing the figure’s true identity until the end of the project. What emerges from the madness are firecrackers of delight: wayward quintuplets, love potions, robots facing down firing squads, futuristic nuns, Solar Cats™, a man marrying a statute and more stories of bad people, bad behavior, and above all, exceptional feats of imagination.