The Book of Right and Wrong: Ohio State Univ Prize in Short Fiction

“Matt Debenham’s collection The Book of Right and Wrong has everything I look for in a reading experience: engaging characters, compelling stories, and universal themes. But the unexpected moments were what I appreciated most—when I laughed out loud or paused to reread a lyrical sentence or put the book down to think not just about the characters’ lives but about my own. These stories are funny and heartbreaking and dark all at once, yet somehow the author manages to achieve an effortless feeling of interconnectedness, one story flowing into the next. Debenham writes about the forgotten, the offbeat, and the outcast in his beautifully unconventional way, giving voices to those who often go unheard. This is a stunning debut from a distinctive new presence in American storytelling, among the best collections I have read.” —Amy Greene, author of Bloodroot