Now Available!
The Journal
of the Center for
Applied Hopelessness
​“The collection creates a community of voices that feel individual yet interwoven, as if the pain connects them in unseen ways. In examining what it means to live with unresolved sorrow, each essay guides readers to confront, and even appreciate, the contradictions between resilience and vulnerability.”
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- Kirkus Reviews​
wilson whitlow
Hi. My name is Jim Perry and I have written under the name of Wilson Whitlow since 2020, when I published my middle grade fantasy Mystery of the Khar Chuluu. I studied literature at Carnegie Mellon University and law at Georgetown University and served in the U.S. Navy. I currently toil as an attorney in Washington DC, where I live with my family.
Right now I'm into: rewatching Twin Peaks, Lou Rawls's Merry Christmas Ho! Ho! Ho! (along with lots of other Christmas music), micro presses, and Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie.
You can contact me at wilsonwhitlow@gmail.com.
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I hardly ever post on X (formerly Twitter): @WhitlowWilson
BOOKS
The Journal of the Center for Applied Hopelessness
Consent Vol. 1: Erdos
Mystery of the Khar Chuluu
The Journal of the Center for Applied Hopelessness is a fictional journal of the social sciences dedicated to the exploration of hopelessness in its many forms—what it means, where it comes from, and how it may even be put to good use.
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Samantha Bowden reflects on the death of her nephew. In dying, she writes, he forced her to go on living, if only to carry the burden of his memory.
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Reeling from the poor sales of his debut record, Scott Keener dives into the meaning of failure—in art and in life.
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Lawyer Mills Block shares his struggles in living with social anxiety and his time spent representing Lionel Mering, a man wrongly convicted of the murder of his child.
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Mira Orlando introduces us to a unique science through which she has sought to escape the world of depression by exploring its terrible logic.
Also included are other bits—letters, recent events, books, and corrections—that may entertain or distract us for a little while.
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“The collection creates a community of voices that feel individual yet interwoven, as if the pain connects them in unseen ways. In examining what it means to live with unresolved sorrow, each essay guides readers to confront, and even appreciate, the contradictions between resilience and vulnerability.”
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Joint Winner, The Letter Review Prize for Manuscripts & Unpublished Books (Dec. 2023)
Erdos. On this world, there is no shared reality. The wreckage of centuries lies everywhere, and the people carry within them the scars of ancient wounds. It is here that a radical religion has taken root, one that may change the course of history.
Lemit, the famous gender alignment surgeon, has been exiled to Erdos from ser home planet Marda for an affair with a former patient. Alone and destitute, Lemit accepts a perilous mission to find the voice of this strange new religion.
Haunted by the death of a lover, Grist, the noted Mardan procurator of the civil residuum, has also returned to Erdos. Ser objective: to prevent an attack by the faithful that may be as inevitable as it is impossible to perpetrate.
Both will find Erdos an unforgiving place, a place where a violent history clings to everything, and where the meaning of events is, at all times, elusive.
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". . . heady stuff for the adventuresome who like SF that does not give up its secrets easily."
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Finalist, 2022 Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for Best Sci-fi / Fantasy
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Finalist, 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Science Fiction
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Honorable Mention, 2022 Purple Dragonfly Book Award, Science Fiction / Fantasy
Chul Sun is on the run. With his lightning speed, he has stolen a small black stone called the khar chuluu. He doesn’t know what it does, he only knows that he must keep it from the man who sent him to steal it.
Anita Aminou comes from a powerful magical family. Burning to prove herself, she runs away from home in hopes of unlocking a dark power she believes can save her family from destruction.
Together, Anita and Chul will cross deserts, seas, and mountains in search of the secret of the khar chuluu. Its magic will lead to a place they least expect: Chul will learn the secret of his past and Anita the limits of her powers.
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"Readers of all ages will relish Whitlow’s smart tale starring two young, captivating protagonists."
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"A thrilling tale that’s sure to become one of the best all-time children’s favorites."
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Winner, 2022 Book Excellence Award, Children's Fiction
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Finalist, 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, Children’s/Juvenile (Fiction)
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Finalist, 2022 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, First Novel (Under 50,000 words)
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Honorable Mention, 2022 Purple Dragonfly Book Award, Middle Grade Fiction