I first heard of Bellevue Literary Press when I was judging fiction for the National Book Awards several years ago. I was struck by the fact that the novels from Bellevue were wholly original works of art and had much more energy and syncopation than the novels I was reading from traditional publishing houses and other small presses. Bellevue seemed to have a daring mission: to publish novels that defied literary trends and was not trying to shadow the marketplace.