TCR Story of the Month for May: "Homunculus" by Adam McOmber

Adam McOmber

The Committee Room is pleased to present "Homunculus" by Adam McOmber as TCR Story of the Month for May. A meticulously rendered and highly unusual story, "Homunculus" deals with matters of science, history, and extreme personal creativity.  

McOmber is the author of the novel The White Forest (Touchstone, 2012) and the short story collection This New & Poisonous Air (BOA Editions, 2011). His work has appeared recently in Conjunctions and Fairy Tale Review. He is the Associate Editor of Hotel Amerika at Columbia College Chicago
where he teaches literature and creative writing.



"Homunculus" was published in Hayden's Ferry Review, Issue 50, Spring/Summer 2012.

To read "Homunculus" click here

TCR Story of the Month highlights an outstanding work of fiction published online within the preceding twelve months.


TCR Talks with Author Adam McOmber

This New and Poisonous Air,
story collection by Adam McOmber

Q: How long have you been writing?
A: I’ve been writing since I was very young. Growing up in a small farm town in Ohio forced me to use my imagination as a means of escape. It’s important to me that my writing transports the reader in the same way I wanted to be transported as a boy in Ohio.

Q: Where did you get the idea for "Homunculus?"
A: I read widely from all kinds of historical texts and I often find interesting ideas for short stories there. I’d been interested in the idea of the homunculus for a long time—the notion that a child can be born only from a man, with no mother. And this child is not quite human, but instead a kind of strange creature that controls nature.

Q: Who are some of your favorite classic authors?
A: Ovid, Henry James, Bram Stoker, Oscar Wilde, H.P. Lovecraft, Algernon Blackwood, Lord Dunsany, James Frazer, M.R. James.

The White Forest,
a novel by Adam McOmber

Q: Who are some of your favorite contemporary authors?
A: Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Dan Simmons, Angela Carter, Alan Moore.


Here's more information --

All Write Already! Episode 6: Adam McOmber, November 28, 2012.

"Chicago Lit: Adam McOmber." Chicago Sun-Times, September 6, 2012.

"The White Forest: A Chat with Adam McOmber (& Giveaway)." The Book Smugglers,  September 13, 2012.




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