Mark Beyer has lived in the Czech Republic, Spain, France, and on a Maltese island. He has written about Gozoan fishing villages, the Bohemian capital’s “storybook” lanes, bull running in Pamplona, and living at the base of Europe’s highest peak, Mont Blanc. Born and raised in the Chicago area, he taught fiction writing at Columbia College Chicago, was a book editor in New York City, and worked for many years as a journalist. His writing has won awards for the short story (Columbia University Scholastic Competition, 1998) and for news features (Florida Association of News Publications, 2004). His children’s literature, written for schools and libraries, has been translated into numerous languages. He now makes his home in Europe along with his wife. Currently, he is working on a new novel, and blogs at bibliogrind.com on themes of literature and book culture. Max, the blind guy (June 2015) grew from a recognition on a street in Prague. Readers shall discover that his stories track the nuances of experience. People interested in reading strong fiction will quickly notice a common purpose among its writers: we work to understand the character of men and women in contemporary society. His first novel, THE VILLAGE WIT (2010), and the follow-up, WHAT BEAUTY (2012), explore the nexus between art and life, relationships and betrayal, work and diversion. Whether you think a little or a lot about these pairs, they play through portions of our lives on a scale that surpasses the otherwise banal moments we might often ascribe to “life”.

My walls are adorned with two writing awards—for short story writing (Columbia University Scholastic Competition, 1998) and news features (Florida Association of News Publications, 2004).