Jon Fried has published short stories in many journals and zines, plus features on New Jersey culture in The New York Times. His novella Hello George is coming out in 2026 (Useless Guide Press). He wrote and recorded many songs for the Cucumbers, a band he co-founded with Deena Shoshkes. He is collecting his short stories (and longer works) in four guide books, Transcendent Guide to Corporate America, Useless Guide to Modern Romance, Musician’s Guide to the Future and Guide for the Unguidable. He is also at work on a set of historical novels based on some of the colorful characters in his family tree. He lives in New Jersey with Deena, his wife, with whom he raised two sons.
Transcendent Guide to Corporate America won an honorable mention (third place) in the 2016 Mary Roberts Rinehart Fiction Contest. One of the stories in Guide for the Unguidable won the 2017 Writers@Work Writing Competition for fiction. A story from Useless Guide to Modern Romance appeared in Flight, an anthology published by Elephant’s Bookshelf Press.
From 2016 through COVID, Jon and Deena played in The Campfire Flies,
CONTACT: fried.jon@gmail.com