Here’s an excerpt. Here’s an interview.

Once I Was Cool was reissued in August 2021 by Northwestern University Press.

Top Ten Books of 2014, Roxane Gay for Salon
Best Books of 2014, Chicago Magazine
2014 Favorites, Vol. 1 Brooklyn
2014 Favorites, Chicago Reader
2014 Notables, Chicago Tribune
2014 Best of Small Press, Newcity Magazine

“Stielstra is a masterful essayist. From the first page to the last, she demonstrates a graceful understanding of the power of storytelling.” —Roxane Gay

“Stielstra gives voice to the thoughts and feelings we assume are deeply personal but, we slowly discover, are universal… funny, heartfelt and refreshingly candid, inspiring readers to make peace with their own imperfections.” —Chicago Tribune

“Stielstra is that cool girl who taught you how to say the F word like you meant it and knew all the best music and constantly reminded you of the astonishing beauty of the universe.” —The Rumpus

"Stielstra’s collection combines the things I love best in writing: humor, smarts, and extraordinary insights about being human. In more specific terms, Once I Was Cool is about adulthood, with essays ranging from running into an old lover while tripping to managing postpartum depression via a baby monitor.” —Independent Review of Books

“I felt like, for the first time, I had this window into the interiority of Shaelene’s mind during those early months after our baby was born. I felt like I could empathize with her. Story—when done well—grants us the power of empathy. I gave it to Shaelene to read. She cried. More than once. She told me, ‘That was me. Step by step. I was there.’” —Literary Chicago

Here’s an excerpt. Here’s an interview.

Everyone Remain Calm was reissued in August 2021 by Northwestern University Press.

“Her voice is so palpable, so immediate and vibrantly alive, it feels as though she’s standing right in front of you, making you laugh so hard you don’t quite notice when you start to cry.” —Gina Frangello

“Everyone Remain Calm is a rarity: a bold, imaginative, and cunning collection of stories. Spanning a wide variety of styles, forms, and tones, the language here is unapologetically inventive and often humorous, while the sentiments are deeply heartfelt. Stielstra’s inimitable voice is a fiercely unique creation.” —Joe Meno

"She has a profound understanding of where we all go in our minds, and the unique ability to turn it into a story that sounds like your new best friend is telling it to you. You know, the kind where you’re going 'Oh my god that totally happened to me' until she gets to the part where she’s sleeping with the Incredible Hulk and you go, 'Well, that didn’t happen to me but damn, why does it still seem like it did?'“ —Elizabeth Crane

“‘Words can kill you if you’re not careful,’ Stielstra writes. And the stories we tell ourselves are the most fantastic tales of all. Everyone Remain Calm is eerie, hilarious, moving, and down-to-earth, even as its characters defy the rules—sometimes in the ways we wish we could.” —The Rumpus

“Stielstra—collector, curator, and facilitator of so many stories—writes beautifully and kinetically. Her work possesses a rare aural quality, no doubt the result of so much time onstage or in front of a classroom.” —Time Out

“Those who know of Chicago author Megan Stielstra are aware of her theatrical readings, composed of a powerful cadence of speech and strong storytelling you won’t find anywhere else. Somehow she bottled the presence of her performances and sprinkled it on every page.” —CBS