I am an unapologetic name dropper. Case in point: Jonathan Taylor Thomas—yes, the Lion King himself—went to my middle school (!!!). It’s my one claim to fame so I take every chance I can to parade this juicy factoid around. Some other people who I ran into with some regularity: a kid who played Mel Gibson’s son in The Patriot and eventually went on to star in a WB show. The guys from Incubus, Hoobastank, and Linkin Park. A childhood friend’s uncle, Tom Selleck (you might know him from his hit film, 3Men and A Baby. Or as Magnum P.I.). To make matters worse, I lived next door to a former NFL star and then Will Smith moved into my friend’s neighborhood. Disgusting, right?

So it only makes sense that once I started to know writers who got published, that I would brag about them, too. But bear with me, because their stuff is ridiculously good—like heart breakingly, lyrically astoundingly good. You’ll understand after reading the folks on this list why I’m Crazy Jealous. Oh, and feel free to tell people that you sort of know a girl who, like, kind of knows some good writers, you know, before they were famous.

“Truth in Nonfiction: A Testimonial” by DylanNice: This will make you want to immediately reread Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and may restore your faith in humanity.

“Everything, Perfectly, Forever” by A. KendraGreene: The last line will slay you in the best way possible.

“Del Amor Al Odio” by Lina Maria Ferrerira Cabeza-Vanegas: For those of you who devour stylistically and lyrically awesome, haunting writing with a multilingual bent.

“Soundings: Chapter 1” by Hali Felt: In case you were ever curious about “the story of the remarkable woman who mapped the ocean floor” because I guarantee that you should be.

“Perdition” by Kristen Radtke: Anything that can pack this much heat in under 75 words (plus images) gets a fist pump.

Bonus Nonfiction Point –  The Ten Greatest Essays Ever: a bunch of Top 10 lists compiled by great writers. Be prepared to lose yourself in this internet rabbit hole for hours.

BONUS: Want to write a guest post in the Friday Rex series? Send us an email at SundogLit@gmail – like Amy did – and tell about what you’re reading, what you’re thinking about for Friday Rex.

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Amy Lee Scott received an MFA from the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing Program. Her essays have appeared in, or are forthcoming in, Bellingham Review, Gettysburg Review, Dark Sky Magazine, Michigan Quarterly Review, Gulf Coast, The Southern Review, New Letters, Fourth Genre, Brevity, and others. “When the World Explodes” was on The Best American Essays 2009’s notable list. She occasionally blogs about oddities such as professional ultimate frisbee games and Elvis festivals at clubnarwhal.blogspot.com.