Hotline

by Benjamin Percy

59 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 19, 2026

About the author

Benjamin Percy is the author of seven novels -- most recently The Sky Vault (William Morrow) -- three short fiction collections, and a book of essays, Thrill Me, that is widely taught in creative writing classrooms. He writes Wolverine, X-Force, and Ghost Rider for Marvel Comics. His fiction and nonfiction have been published in Esquire (where he is a contributing editor), GQ, Time, Men's Journal, Outside, the Wall Street Journal, Tin House, and the Paris Review. His honors include an NEA fellowship, the Whiting Writer's Award, the Plimpton Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, the iHeart Radio Award for Best Scripted Podcast, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories and Best American Comics.

Reviews

[Tomasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short, dark ride with a suicide hotline employee, this goes to some unexpected places (even if the individual beats are familiar). There will be blood.

[Amy Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a supernatural affinity for grisly vampire stories, so I would call Benjamin Percy's HOTLINE a guilty pleasure. However, no guilt was felt, so I'll just call it a pleasure. Gory, sneaky, and brilliantly leveraging the haunted quality of Midwestern decay, this is one you can gulp down all in one go. Drink up!

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conflicted

I liked this but same time I didn’t cause now I want more. Lol it’s a good short little read.