Simon & Schuster announces the publication of “Small Treasons,” the fifth novel by Mark Powell, assistant professor of creative writing and contemporary fiction in Appalachian's Department of English. “Small Treasons” tells the story of an American marriage on the verge of rupture, spinning an all-too-current tale of the world we live in and the world we fear—and how we may not be able to tell the two apart.

"Small Treasons is a beautifully written, disturbing portrait of Americans searching for meaning in a violent, fragmented world. What a marvelous novel this is."

Ron Rash, author of Serena and Above the Waterfall

Mark Powell joined Appalachian's Department of English in 2016. He earned an MFA from the University of South Carolina and an MAR from Yale Divinity School. He is the author of four novels: “Prodigals,” “Blood Kin” (winner of the Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel), “The Dark Corner” and “The Sheltering” (bronze medalist for the both the Independent Publishers Award and the Florida Book Awards, with an introduction by Pat Conroy). He has received fellowships from the Breadloaf and Sewanee Writers' Conferences, the Collegeville Center for Ecumenical Research, and in 2014 was a Fulbright Fellow to Slovakia. Prior to Appalachian, he was an associate professor at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he was the Heman Fellow as well as the director and co-founder of the Low-Residency MFA Program.

Small Treasons

By Mark Powell
2017

With writing that is both devastating and tender, Mark Powell brings his acclaimed eye to an American marriage on the verge of rupture, spinning an all-too-current tale of the world we live in and the world we fear—and how we may not be able to tell the two apart—perfect for fans of Adam Johnson’s Fortune Smiles and Denis Johnson’s The Laughing Monsters.

Tess Maynard is coming apart. At home with her three young children in her husband’s Georgia hometown, people keep asking if she’s depressed, if she and John are okay.

Secretly, she’s becoming obsessed with the war on terror—an ISIS beheading video in particular. Something about the victim’s captivity on the computer screen resonates with her. Something inside of her demands endless prayers for a world gone mad.

The carefully constructed life of her husband is likewise beginning to unravel. Now a college counselor, John’s former life bears persistently into the present. Once a contractor at a CIA black site that interrogated suspected terrorists—and one innocent civilian—he is given a choice by the Justice Department: either help with a problem in the homeland, or they investigate.

Forced by an old colleague to spy on a new one, John’s experiences abroad come home to roost in Georgia. For his wife, for his family, he goes along with the game. But just as he and Tess work to salvage their life together, the world comes between them in the form of a young man slowly being radicalized by the professor John is reporting on.

In a moment Tess imagined and never wanted to see, the intersection of their three lives is as devastating as the bomber’s explosion of hate and metal, and as inevitable as the battle between powers great and personal.

Available from Simon & Schuster

About the Department of English

The Department of English at Appalachian State University is committed to outstanding work in the classroom, the support and mentorship of students, and a dynamic engagement with culture, history, language, theory and literature. The department offers master’s degrees in English and rhetoric and composition, as well as undergraduate degrees in literary studies, film studies, creative writing, professional writing and English education. Learn more at https://english.appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, cost-effective education. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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