Porter Shreve

When the white house was ours

The End of the Book is the story of an aspiring contemporary novelist who may or may not be writing a sequel to Sherwood Anderson's classic Winesburg, Ohio. Adam Clary works in Chicago for a famous internet company on a massive project to digitize the world's books, but secretly he hates his job and wishes to be a writer at a time when the book as physical object and book culture itself have never been more threatened. Counterpointing Adam's story is that of George Willard, the young protagonist of Anderson's book, who arrives in Chicago around 1900 when it was the fastest-growing city in American history. Through alternating chapters, we follow George's travails, including his marriage to the wealthy daughter of his boss, his affair with his hometown sweetheart, his artistic crisis, breakdown and flight, and along the way we see the echoes and intersections between his life and Adam's as they struggle in two similar Americas through two similar times in the life of the book.

A Novel

The End of the Book

In 1989, twenty-two-year-old Gordie Hatch takes a job as an obituary writer for the St. Louis Independent, but an encounter with young widow Alice Whiting leads him on an obsessive quest in search of the truth behind the Whiting family.

The Obituary Writer

“A hilarious family tale” about a modern-day mother’s lifestyle crisis—and her outlandish attempts to get her family back (Woman’s Day). Lydia Modine is sixty-one and about to come undone. Her three grown-up children have flown the coop. She hasn’t seen them together in more than a year, and now her ex-husband is about to marry a woman half his age. And the insults keep coming: Lydia is stuck on a book she’s writing about Detroit’s car industry, which uncannily parallels her own life—out with the old model, in with the new. She’s poured her soul into her family, only to be abandoned in the City of Dream Machines. But then a twist of fate introduces her to Norm, an eco-car fanatic out to remake her and the world. A “smart and funny” novel that’s sure to appeal to anyone who has longed for an alternate life, Drives Like a Dream confirms that sometimes when you set out for a spin, the twists and turns can be perfectly rewarding—and right (Chicago Tribune). “A beautiful novel.” —The Washington Post

Drives Like a Dream

B. Minh Nguyen

Key Benefit: This comprehensive anthology of contemporary American short fiction focuses on the story and its context from 1960 to the present. A special Introduction discusses the elements of tone, point of view, character, etc. and ideas such as realism and postmodernism.Key Topics: The over 50 stories featured in Nguyen and Shreve's anthology range in style from the traditional narrative to experimental forms. Classic stories are juxtaposed with newer, emerging voices. The stories featured are thematically diverse as well, addressing issues of family and culture, love and loss, ethnicity and gender.Market: Anyone interested in the rich array of contemporary American short stories.

The Contemporary American Short Story

Loosely based on Porter Shreve’s own childhood, When the White House Was Ours is the atmospheric and captivating story of a family’s struggle to stay together against great odds. It’s 1976, and while the country prepares to celebrate the bicentennial, Daniel Truitt’s family is falling apart. His father, Pete, has been fired from yet another teaching job, and his mother, Valerie, is one step away from leaving for good. But when Pete lucks into a crumbling mansion in the nation’s capital, he makes a bold plan to start a school under his own roof where students and teachers will be equals. Replete with the wry humor, human insight, and cultural resonance that characterizes Shreve’s critically acclaimed fiction, When the White House Was Ours will be a joy to anyone whose family has lived through an idealistic time and ended up in an era of compromise.

When the White House Was Ours

A diverse and wide range of contemporary creative nonfiction, including 45 essays and 15 commentaries on craft. KEY TOPICS: The sometimes blurry line between personal and journalistic nonfiction; emphasis on craft; focus on thematic organization as an approach. MARKET: Undergraduate Introductory and Advanced courses on essay writing and the art of the essay; Graduate-level courses on Creative Nonfiction writing.

Porter Shreve

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