“Horvath doesn’t just tell a story, he gives readers a window into the hearts, minds and souls of his characters.”

Concord Monitor

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“Tim Horvath is a fluid, inventive writer who deftly interweaves the palpably real and the pyrotechnically fantastic. At once playful, deeply moving, and sharply funny, Understories satisfies the mind, the heart, and the gut.”

Kate Christensen, author of The Astral and The Great Man

“Horvath seems to be channeling, all at once, Borges and Calvino and Kevin Brockmeier. And it all works.”

Rebecca Makkai, author of The Borrower

“‘The Understory’ is a terrific reach through history from the pre- and post- Nazi era in Germany up to the present. . . . This is a wonderful story, a first-rate creation by a fine writer.”

Bill Henderson, president and editor of Pushcart Press, in his judge’s statement for the Raymond Carver Short Story Award

“Tim Horvath is a wonderful writer. There’s a musicality to his prose. It’s evident that he enjoys the way words can sound on the page. His debut short story collection from Bellevue Literary Press reminds me a bit of Kevin Brockmeier, in the sense that both writers combine wordplay with speculative fiction.”

Michele Filgate, Community Bookstore (Brooklyn, NY) @ Vol. 1 Brooklyn

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“Horvath’s stories simultaneously stimulate the intellect while being fantastically imaginative. 
Contemporary urban life is examined through the looking glass, twisted slightly but still entirely recognizable and relatable. His images imprint, linger and the characters balance on the fine edge of what is real and what is imagined. This is memorable stuff.”

Stacie M. Williams, Boswell Book Company (Milwaukee, WI)

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Tim Horvath


A cause for celebration… Tim Horvath’s first collection of short fiction, Understories, has received the New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Fiction!

Listen in on a very fun conversation with Tim Horvath and Brad Listi on the Other People podcast. Topics include their Midwestern childhood, bridge climbing in New York, the birthday they both share with Herman Melville, Dom DeLuise, and Jerry Garcia, and Tim’s “red hot” Understories.

Tim Horvath discusses Understories with the Boston Globe, Bloom, and The Nervous Breakdownmuses on his inspirations at TSP: The official blog of The Story Prize; explains his offbeat research for the collection at Necessary Fictionanswers questions at Monkeybicycleoffers reading recommendations at The Short Formcontributes a guest post for Robert Lopez’ “No News Today” series; and talks to The Philadelphia Review of Book’s Andrew Ervin in a three way conversation with Gabriel Blackwell and Jensen Beach (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3).

Read a story from Understories and an interview with Tim Horvath about its origin at The Collagist.

Read more interviews with Tim Horvath about the art of teaching and writing in The Hippo and at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts website.

Calling all Moby-Dick fans! During NYC’s inaugural reading marathon, literary luminaries including Sarah Vowell, Rick Moody, Michele Filgate, Touré, and our own Tim Horvath read from the Herman Melville classic. The Daily News covers the festivities and Tim Horvath offers a field report from New Bedford, MA, where it all started.

Tim Horvath, a graduate of Vassar College, Teachers College-Columbia University, and the University of New Hampshire, is an associate editor for Camera Obscura Journal and teaches creative writing at New Hampshire Institute of Art and Boston’s Grub Street writing center. He has also worked part-time as a counselor in a psychiatric hospital, primarily with autistic children and adolescents. Understories, Horvath’s first collection of short fiction, includes the award-winning “Understory,” selected by Bill Henderson for the Raymond Carver Short Story Award, and “Circulation,” selected by Clark Blaise for the Society for the Study of the Short Story Prize. His stories have also appeared in Conjunctions, Fiction, Alimentum, Puerto del Sol, and elsewhere. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and daughter.

Tim 's Website

BLP Conversations: Tim Horvath & Mark Changizi

Tim Horvath on the inspiration behind Understories

Music to Read By: Tim Horvath’s Playlist for Understories

Tim Horvath presents “Desert of Maine” from the Desert of Maine