Where the Dog Star Never Glows - Tara L. Masih (Press 53)

In her debut collection, Tara Masih shows an intimate sense of understanding her characters' innermost feelings, creating a memorable map of diverse characters that span the globe and several eras. Ghosts dance, butterflies swarm, men crystallize, the sun disappears, and water plays a role in both destruction and repair of the soul.
With an unflinching eye, a mythical awareness of the natural world, and poetic, crafted prose, Masih examines the dark recesses of the mind and heart, which often leads to a small or great triumph or illumination that will resonate long after the last page is turned. Publishers Weekly says: “Striking and resonant . . .”

Tara L. Masih is a graduate of Emerson College’s Writing and Publishing Program. She has won awards for her fiction and received Pushcart Prize, Best New American Voices, and Best of the Web nominations. She is editor of The Rose Metal Press Field Guide to Writing Flash Fiction (a ForeWord Best Book of the Year finalist).

About Press 53
Press 53 is an independent literary publishing house located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and was founded in October 2005 by Kevin Morgan Watson. Press 53 publishes 4-6 short story collections and 4-6 poetry collections each year. They also publish 1-2 novels or memoirs; the every-odd-year anthology series Surreal South; the annual Press 53 Open Awards Anthology; the new annual Press 53 Spotlight, which features 5 poets and 3 short story authors; and 1-2 out-of-print treasures under its Press 53 Classics imprint.
Other offerings for 2010 include Miracle Boy and Other Stories by Pinckney Benedict; the 1971 Pulitzer Prize-nominated novel Journey for Joedel by Guy Owen; the 2009 Spokane Prize for Short Fiction-winner Strange Weather by Becky Hagenston; and Rattlesnakes & The Moon by Darlin’ Neal.

Tara L. Masih: Where the Dog Star Never Glows
story collection
164 pages, $14
ISBN 978-0-9825760-5-2