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Kyle Minor

Goodreads Author

Born

West Palm Beach, Florida

Website

http://www.kyleminor.com

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Nonfiction

Member Since

May 2009

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/kyleminor

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Kyle Minor is the author of two collections of short fiction: Praying Drunk (2014) and In the Devil's Territory (2008). He is the winner of the 2012 Iowa Review Prize for Short Fiction and the Tara M. Kroger Prize for Short Fiction, one of Random House’s Best New Voices of 2006, and a three-time honoree in the Atlantic Monthly contest. His work has appeared online at Esquire, The Atlantic, Salon, and Tin House, and in print in The New York Times Book Review, The Southern Review, The Iowa Review, Best American Mystery Stories 2008, Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers: Random House Presents the Best New Voices of 2006, Forty Stories: New Voices from Harper Perennial, and Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013.

http://www.kylemino Kyle Minor is the author of two collections of short fiction: Praying Drunk (2014) and In the Devil's Territory (2008). He is the winner of the 2012 Iowa Review Prize for Short Fiction and the Tara M. Kroger Prize for Short Fiction, one of Random House’s Best New Voices of 2006, and a three-time honoree in the Atlantic Monthly contest. His work has appeared online at Esquire, The Atlantic, Salon, and Tin House, and in print in The New York Times Book Review, The Southern Review, The Iowa Review, Best American Mystery Stories 2008, Twentysomething Essays by Twentysomething Writers: Random House Presents the Best New Voices of 2006, Forty Stories: New Voices from Harper Perennial, and Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013.

http://www.kyleminor.com

Praise for Praying Drunk:

“The stories [in Praying Drunk] span decades as they move from Kentucky to Haiti and points between, but they work in concert to slowly reveal the landscape of an emotionally desolate quasi-America sinking under the weight of its own faith. Minor writes beautifully about these ruined lives.” - The New York Times Book Review

“The beauty of Praying Drunk is that it transcends suffering to evoke the sublime.” - Los Angeles Times

“Nothing here is contained, the way a hit single on a record stands alone—characters recur, themes and forms are deepened and visited again, moments glimpsed earlier come back with haunting force. ” - The Atlantic

“[Kyle] Minor mauls you with his vicious prose, and then takes your hand and asks you to join him in a form of prayer.” - Electric Literature

“When the characters residing in Kyle Minor’s engrossing and lively Praying Drunk find a toehold on the good life, I hope that it’s autobiographical. When the characters find themselves enveloped in desperate situations, irreversible circumstances, and despair, I pray that it’s solely out of the writer’s imagination. These fine stories–up there with the best works of Padgett Powell, Donald Barthelme, and Robert Coover–never straddle a milquetoast fence: they’re extreme in humor, extreme in sorrowfulness, and 100% individually-wrapped masterpieces. I am haunted and mesmerized by this collection.”
- George Singleton, author of Stray Decorum

“Praying Drunk gets the whole thing down: the cosmic muck and the local glory, the big questions and the tiny lives, the bullies and the saviors, the screaming at the sky and the lights by the side of the road late at night on a long drive. I finished this book with my heart pounding and grateful, my coffee cold and my smile wide and crying like a baby.”
- Daniel Handler, author of Adverbs and The Basic Eight

“Watch Praying Drunk’s lovely, lonely people wrestle with Minor’s dark God and remember when you too tried to reason with Him and unravel His mysterious commands. These passionate tales, full of longing and daring and honesty, will disturb and inspire you.”
- Deb Olin Unferth, author of Revolution

“Similar to a great magic trick, the 13 stories in Minor’s (In the Devil’s Territory) latest lure reader investment with strong visuals while simultaneously pulling the rug out from underfoot with clever, literary sleights–of-hand. Though not necessarily linked in the traditional sense, there is a sequential order to the collection—ideas, locations, incidents, and characters echo as the volume chugs forward—and the result is an often dazzling, emotional, funny, captivating puzzle.” – Publishers Weekly ...more

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Kyle Minor's Blog

New Book

I haven't posted on Goodreads for six years. It's been twelve years since my last book was published. I'm not sure who is still reading, but, hey, I have a new book coming out in February! It's a weird collection of essays titled How to Disappear and Why. If you happen to read it, drop me a line and let me know what you think!

Kyle Minor

How to Disappear and Why: Essays Read more of this blog post »

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Published on January 07, 2026 12:58

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Kyle Minor’s books

Average rating: 3.91 · 2,960 ratings · 486 reviews · 18 distinct works • Similar authors

	Praying Drunk 3.75 avg rating — 937 ratings — published 2014 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013 by Dave Eggers (Editor), Walter Mosley (Contributor), Miroslav Penkov (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 735 ratings — published 2013 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The New Black by Richard Thomas (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Laird Barron (Goodreads Author) (Foreword), Brian Evenson (Contributor) 4.11 avg rating — 354 ratings — published 2014 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best of Brevity: Twenty Years of Groundbreaking Flash Nonfiction by Zoë Bossiere (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Dinty W. Moore (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Brenda Miller (Contributor) 4.28 avg rating — 320 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Best American Mystery Stories 2008 by George P. Pelecanos (Editor), Otto Penzler (Goodreads Author) (Series Editor), Chuck Hogan 3.63 avg rating — 293 ratings — published 2008 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Devil's Territory 4.12 avg rating — 251 ratings — published 2008 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	20something Essays by 20something Writers by Matt Kellogg (Editor), Kyle Minor (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Jillian Quint (Editor) 3.68 avg rating — 260 ratings — published 2006 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	How to Disappear and Why 4.30 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2026 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Truth and All Its Ugly 3.97 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 2011 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rising Up and Rising Down.(Books)(Brief Article)(Book Review): An article from: The Antioch Review 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Kyle Minor rated a book it was amazing Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter by Mike Errico (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jun 15, 2026 08:55AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Music, Lyrics, and Life by Mike Errico. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Music, Lyrics, and Life by Mike Errico <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kyle Minor is now following Jane Liddle Author of The Best Small Fictions 2015
Jun 07, 2026 04:26AM · like
Kyle Minor and 1 other person liked David Gallay's review of How to Disappear and Why: Essays:
Jun 01, 2026 10:22PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of How to Disappear and Why by Kyle Minor. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — How to Disappear and Why by Kyle Minor <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kyle Minor liked a quote “Few people, very few, have a treasure, and if you do you must hang onto it. You must not let yourself be waylaid, and have it taken from you.” Alice Munro
Jun 01, 2026 10:26AM · like · more quotes by Alice Munro · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Runaway by Alice Munro. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Runaway by Alice Munro <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kyle Minor liked that Julia entered a giveaway What We Can Know by Ian McEwan (Goodreads Author) 24 copies available, ends on June 30, 2026 Enter to win »
Jun 01, 2026 10:26AM · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — What We Can Know by Ian McEwan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kyle Minor liked Dan's review of How to Disappear and Why:
May 25, 2026 12:19AM · see review
Kyle Minor is now following Danny and Dan
May 25, 2026 12:19AM
Kyle Minor rated a book it was amazing Skyland: A Novel by Ann Joslin Williams (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 21, 2026 06:29PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Skyland by Ann Joslin Williams. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Skyland by Ann Joslin Williams <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kyle Minor is now following Ann Joslin Williams Author of Down from Cascom Mountain
May 21, 2026 06:29PM · like

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Quotes by Kyle Minor (?)

“Mistakes were made long ago. It is someone else's fault. We can't be held responsible, but we are very sorry.”
― Kyle Minor

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“I am a very slutty reader.”
― Kyle Minor

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“The very face of evil was love.”
― Kyle Minor

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Reading with Style: SP 2014 RwS Completed Tasks - Spring 2014	1052	208	May 31, 2014 09:05PM

Kyle’s Quotes

“Few people, very few, have a treasure, and if you do you must hang onto it. You must not let yourself be waylaid, and have it taken from you.”
― Alice Munro, Runaway: Stories

52 likes