The Longest Man-Made Beach In The World
Biloxi Stories
Amelia Franz
“Reminds me why I love short stories . . .
an exceptional debut.”
—Mary Miller, author of Biloxi: A Novel and Always Happy Hour: Stories
Order The Longest Man-Made Beach In The World: Biloxi Stories at your favorite online bookseller.
A mother and son search for a missing father in the seedy bars and strip clubs of Dixie Mafia-era Biloxi Beach. A grief-torn brother seeks solace in the post-Katrina ruins of a once-glamorous hotel. A ceremony honoring the 1960s civil rights wade-ins troubles a White woman’s conscience. A young, immigrant oyster cannery worker faces an impossible choice.
Set against the bright sand, murky waters, and barrier islands of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, these eleven stories breathe life into working-class characters with their backs against the wall. Wracked by loss, regret, and desperation, they find slivers of grace where they least expect them.
Order The Longest Man-Made Beach in the World: Biloxi Stories today.
Praise for The Longest
Man-Made Beach In The World
by Amelia Franz
“Amelia Franz knows place—its aromas, its accents, its people”
—Jen Michalski, author of All This Can Be True
“Reminiscent of John Steinbeck, James Agee, and Carson McCullers”
— Melissa Pritchard, author of Flight of the Wild Swan and Palmerino
“Sublime, tender stories . . . perfect as pebbles on a Gulf Coast beach”
—Meri Robie, author of Wild Flowers
“A deft ability to convey lives and worlds . . . vivid and strong”
—Kirkus Reviews (Verdict: “Get It”)
About the Author
Amelia Franz was born and raised in Mississippi and educated at the University of South Alabama and Texas A&M University. Her collection of short stories, The Longest Man-Made Beach in the World: Biloxi Stories, was published in early 2026 by Watertower Press.
Amelia’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in literary journals and magazines, including Image Journal, Reckon Review, Prime Number Magazine, Peatsmoke Journal, Roi Faineant, and others. Although she’s lived all over the U.S., her fiction remains rooted in the language, culture, and people of her childhood and her native state, Mississippi.
She has worked as a K-12 language arts teacher, online writing instructor for academically-talented teens, and freelance web designer and copywriter. She lives in the Baltimore area with her husband, three children, and their mini schnauzer.