About the Professor

Lee Martin is the award-winning author of the novel, Quakertown; a story collection, The Least You Need to Know, which won the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction; and two memoirs, From Our House and Turning Bones. His stories and essays have appeared in Harper’s, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, The Southern Review, Story, DoubleTake, Glimmer Train, Creative Nonfiction, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, Shenandoah, New England Review, and Prairie Schooner. He lives in Columbus, OH, where he is a professor of English in the creative writing program at The Ohio State University.

Links with more information on Lee Martin

THE BRIGHT FOREVER
A Novel
By Lee Martin

Raymond R: "I’m not saying I didn’t do it. I don’t know."

So begins Lee Martin’s THE BRIGHT FOREVER (Shaye Areheart Books, May 10, 2005), a mesmerizing, addictive mix of suspense, true emotion, and clear-eyed prose that grabs hold from page one and maintains its grip long after the final, heart-stopping pages. It is an astounding literary achievement that speaks to essential subjects that haunt all of us: what it means to be human, how people try to find love, and how they attempt, and sometimes fail, to distinguish right from wrong.

Set in a small town on the plains of Indiana, THE BRIGHT FOREVER is a timeless novel about how a single tragic act overtakes a tight-knit Midwestern community. The masterful way Martin weaves the events that follow and the affecting experiences of each character evokes some of the best storytelling and well-crafted writing in years.

Lee Martin has long been hailed by critics as a writer to watch and love. The Washington Post called his first novel, Quakertown, "one of the finest novels of the year." But it is THE BRIGHT FOREVER that showcases the true breadth of Martin’s talent with its fast-paced story and commercial appeal to create a literary experience like no other. While this novel is already being compared to such compelling works as The Mystic River and The Lovely Bones, it is clear from the start that this book has its own unique power.

You know you have something special when book lovers throughout the publishing industry – writers, booksellers, editors, sales people, and avid readers – share their enthusiasm and praise in the way that they have for Lee Martin’s exceptional new novel. Glowing quotes abound, but the essential fact is that THE BRIGHT FOREVER is one of the rare gems of 2005!

"Rich details and raw emotion mix as Martin, in engaging the human desire to excavate the truth, underscores its complex, elusive nature."
– Publishers Weekly
"The Bright Forever is a masterpiece... readers will be entranced by the story from the get–go, and held until the end by a string of unnerving suspense and quiet disbelief."
– King Features Syndicate