2026 Best in Rural Writing

Stifled in suburbia, a young person flees to the Irish countryside in search of space. Out of work in New Zealand, three ill-prepared young men enter a local rodeo. A retired professor considers his life from a garden allotment in England, and a Wyoming mother reflects on her community's relationship with firearms. The Milk House presents the 2026 Best in Rural Writing anthology. This carefully curated collection of nonfiction essays and short stories explore rural landscapes and the inner lives of those who inhabit them.