Traveling Men and Other Stories

Gathers the best of Wilson Roberts' published and unpublished short fiction into one vivid, unforgettable collection. Within these pages, readers will encounter a sweeping range of voices and visions—from razor-sharp satire to tender family portraits, from haunting horror to lyrical verse.

In A Tragic Beauty, Roberts skewers the Trump dynasty with biting wit, while Against the Dying of the Light and Where Mountain Panthers Wait offer warm, nuanced glimpses of Appalachian life. The collection turns chilling in Fire in the Pines and The Driver, and shifts to poetic elegance with the blank-verse tale Night at Chimney Cave.

At its heart lies the title story, Traveling Men, a poignant coming-of-age tale in which a boy working in a small-town drugstore confronts evil in its most human form. Across other works whether in the delicate reverie of My Grandmother's Wings, the symbolic allure of The Bauble, or the inventive reimaginings of the Appalachian Jack tales in Doria's Tale and Another Take, Roberts invites readers to laugh, reflect, shiver, and dream.

Whatever you seek—satire, beauty, darkness, or light—you'll find a story here to entertain, provoke, and, perhaps, illuminate.