Scott Hunt

In this collection of short stories for the Young Adult market, authors were asked to write a story inspired by one of a series of nine drawings. Each of the drawings was assigned to two different authors, yeilding two discreet and indivdual stories. The finished collection melds the 18 stories with the accompanying art.

The book explores the visual symbolism of art and attempts to show that the "meaning" of a work of art can be fluid, changing with each viewer’s individual reference points. It also investigates the creative process of fiction writers and discusses what it's like to use collaboration as a way to stimulate creativity. Each author contributed an essay to the book in which they discussed the experience of using a work of art as a springboard for their fiction, providing aspiring young authors insight into the ways in which the imagination can be sparked.

Twice Told was voted one of the Top Ten Art Books of 2006 by the American Library Association. Booklist, in its starred review, said that Twice Told is "a refreshing departure from most thematic short story collections...the stories showcase very different responses to the art, and they cover a lot of thematic territory: racism, homosexuality, pedophilia, college, and family relationships."