Powerful and haunting, the ten stories of this debut collection imagine 
a world where dreams and reality merge, often with dangerous 
consequences. Michael Hyde explores the relationships between 
illusion and reality, delusion and clarity, as his characters come to 
realize that the revelations they wholeheartedly pursue are often not 
the ones that await them and will move them. A teenage girl obsessed 
with the death of a classmate hopes to become the killer's next victim, 
a wayward graveyard attendant punishes the dead for his punishments 
in life, and a ghostly vision in a garden shed offers a catalyst for one 
woman's change.

"Michael Hyde's stories are strangely satisfying and satisfyingly 
strange. They combine the gothic sensibility of Flannery O'Connor and 
the restrained prose of Raymond Carver. These are tales of love-in-
extremis. They should be taken as a tonic before bedtime, to stir up 
our dreams and awaken our compassion."—Sharon Oard Warner, 
judge, author of Learning to Dance and Deep in the Heart

"Katherine Anne Porter would be thrilled that Michael Hyde is winning 
an award in her name. His work is marked by the precision of 
language she so prized, and his forebears are writers she nurtured 
and cherished. This collection is strong, original, and precious."—Mary 
Gordon, author of Pearl and Final Payments

"A brilliant debut, a delightfully harrowing read, and a herald of great 
things to come. Hyde's stories take no prisoners."—Pinckney A. 
Benedict, author of Town Smokes and The Wrecking Yard

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Born in Pennsylvania, MICHAEL HYDE received his B.A. from the 
University of Pennsylvania and M.F.A. from the Writing Program at 
Columbia University. His short fiction has appeared in Ontario Review, 
Bloom, Xconnect, Mars Hill Review, New Millennium Writings, and The 
Best American Mystery Stories. He lives in New York City where he 
teaches writing and literature at the Fashion Institute of Technology 
and has recently completed a novel.


Number Four: Katherine Anne Porter Prize in Short Fiction


What people are saying about this book

". . . the ten stories that make up this debut collection are every bit as 
gripping as the book’s provocative title suggests."—Aimee Sabo, 
Foreword Magazine, Jan/Feb 2006