Horse Girl Fever

Kevin Maloney is the author of The Red-Headed Pilgrim and Cult of Loretta. His fiction has appeared in FENCE, Barrelhouse, Rejection Letters, HAD, and a number of other journals and anthologies. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

"Maloney is at his best with the gut-punch endings, which convey the characters’ desire for transcendence from their dingy lives. Though often sobering, these stories are great fun.” —Publishers Weekly"The whole of this collection is a non-stop fever dream of beautiful and honest prose in which each story propels one to the next." —The Los Angeles Review"Maloney is among the most endearing, downright enjoyable voices in American indie lit writing today." —The Winnipeg Free Press"A seizing sexworker, gay Abe Lincoln, the titular 'Horse Girl'—this cast of characters navigate the cruel realities of human experience with resilience, tenderness & humor. A collection that is a testament to Maloney's voice and his ability to find beauty anywhere, even Portland." —Madeline Cash, author of Earth Angel and Lost Lambs forthcoming from FSG"There's a line in one of the stories from Kevin Maloney's absolutely fantastic collection Horse Girl Fever that perfectly encapsulates the experience of reading them. A character states, 'I've never felt so good in my life even though I keep choking on my own blood.' The stories are populated with characters who hold onto the insane joy and utter terror of being alive. Hysterical and honest, Maloney is a writer of unmatched energy, truly boundless in his abilities." —Kevin Wilson, author of Nothing to See Here and Now Is Not the Time to Panic"Kevin Maloney is a natural born fabulist of the highest order and a fierce champion of the American scumbag. Horse Girl Fever is an all-bangers no-skips, amps-to-eleven collection." —Kyle Seibel, author of Hey You Assholes"Kevin Maloney is iconic—one of the funniest, wittiest, and most tender authors working—and Horse Girl Fever is a delightful trip through his high-altitude mind. Each story is a brilliant journey, from cover to cover." —Brian Allen Carr, author of Opioid, Indiana and Bad Foundations"A good alternate title for this collection would be Fear and Loathing in Portland, Oregon. Through his stories, Maloney expertly weaves a drug rug of what dreams should be: love-soaked, high-velocity, and utterly deranged." —Shy Watson, author of Horror Vacui and Cheap Yellow“Every new literary generation needs its drug warrior priest, and Kevin Maloney takes up that mantle with a baffled grin and abundant charisma. These stories had me chuckling in slack-jawed awe at the misery and beauty of life. Maloney is a rare talent, and we are lucky to have him.” —Colin Winnette, author of Users"Horse Girl Fever had me whiplashed between unfathomable lows and the most hilariously inane highs that both satirize and empathize with what it's like being the worst person in the room at any Portland, Oregon house party. Sentence to sentence, I thought, 'Maloney can't be serious.' But that's the best part about these stories—he was, I was right there alongside each narrator, from coke-fueled binges to following pretty girls into the jungle. Self-deprecating and incisingly smart, this book burns like an improperly placed bottle rocket." —Elle Nash, author of Deliver Me and Animals Eat Each Other