United States

Aaron Gwyn

Aaron Gwyn is the author of three novels. His fiction has appeared in his story collection Dog on the Cross, finalist for the New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award; and numerous magazines and anthologies such as Esquire, McSweeney’s, Best of the West, and Every True Pleasure: LGBTQ Tales of North Carolina. He is associate professor of English at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, where he teaches fiction writing and American literature.

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Latest reviews

“Gwyn’s novel is a powerful depiction of the rough realities of frontier life, of the vicious influence of racism in a place where ‘men who didn’t dare look at you in daylight might burn you alive come sundown.’”

— The New York Times, Dec 1 2020

“Gwyn offers us an entertaining tale of misfits finding each other that is also an inspiring, hopeful exploration of an alternate vision of violence and masculinity.”

— Lone Star Literary, Nov 10 2020

“Gwyn writes fresh, vigorous sentences, and many scenes pulse with tension, tenderness or both. He’s as adept at describing battles as his characters’ mercurial changes of mood, wavering between trust and suspicion, fear and anger.”

— Minneapolis Star Tribune, Nov 9 2020

“Mr. Gwyn has couched his meanings within a swift and skillful western, which allows them to unfold with devastating power.”

— Wall Street Journal, Oct 23 2020

“Readers will relish these unforgettable characters and this expansive view of Texas’ wild ride to joining the Union.”

— Booklist, Sep 1 2020

★ “This is a masterpiece of western fiction in the tradition of Cormac McCarthy and James Carlos Blake.”

— Publishers Weekly, Aug 3 2020

“Gwyn knows how to tell a story—he builds suspense wonderfully […] his excellent writing and gift for pacing make this an enjoyable historical novel.”

— Kirkus Reviews, Jul 29 2020