Everything, Then and Since

New book coming late summer, 2017 from Bull City Press

Whether ferrying slowly across an eastern North Carolina river or reaching out to touch a train that’s not about to stop, the wanderers in these stories yearn for what they can’t quite grasp. It might be what they’ve left behind or what lies ahead, but whatever it is, it won’t leave them alone. Regret and marvel, trouble and love—it’s Everything, Then and Since.

“These stories are miracles of concision. And, like all enduring stories, there is nothing short about them. Each of these continues after the last period. Each brief piece comprises a universe unto itself full of blood and heart and dirt and and sorrow and moments of joy so hard one your hands will tremble. Do me a favor? Read Everything, Then and Since slow. Revel in the cadence of these sentences, and dive headlong into this motley collection of actual lives on the page. You won’t come out the same.”  -Peter Orner

Check out previously published pieces included in this collection: “Ghetto Teacher Film Festival” in StorySouth

"Who but Michael Parker could take us through a thrilling, melancholy joyride in such a few pages.  The stories are models of compression, philosophy, jokes and a deep affection for the mistakes people make. This book is so intelligent and melancholy and engaged with trouble.  Each of these stories is a shot of pure life."  -Rebecca Lee, author of Bobcat and other stories