The Story
Tony isn't afraid of the dark. In fact, he's drawn to the nighttime because he believes that the glowing moon is his father. Baby in the Night is a quietly moving novel that follows our narrator, Tony Volcano Ventura, through his childhood as he grows from a very curious baby into a street-smart toddler and preschooler. Living in a poor neighborhood with his loving mother, Tony grapples with the mystery of who his father is, where he might be, and what happened to him. Over the course of many surreal and secret nighttime forays, Tony eventually finds his way to the truth. Along the way, he befriends a teenage junkie and encounters various neighborhood characters: imposter moons, a giant dog, and a droopy-faced messenger. There's also a mysterious fax machine found in an alleyway-the same alley that Tony thinks might be a hideout full of face-eating pigs. Told from Tony's unusual point of view, Baby in the Night is a novel full of innocence, tragedy, and a melancholy shot through with magic and wonder.
Author: Kevin Sampsell
Publisher: Impeller Press
Published: 10/16/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.50w x 0.55d
ISBN: 9781967136001
About the Author
Sampsell, Kevin: - Kevin Sampsell is the author of the novel This Is Between Us (Tin House Books) and the memoir A Common Pornography (Harper Perennial). He also edited the anthology Portland Noir (Akashic Books). His short fiction and essays have appeared in many publications and anthologies, including Best American Essays. A collection of his collage art and poetry, I Made an Accident, was published by Clash Books in 2022. Sampsell lives in Portland, Oregon, where he has run the small press Future Tense Books since 1992, and has been a bookseller and events coordinator at Powell's City of Books since 1997.
Description
Tony isn't afraid of the dark. In fact, he's drawn to the nighttime because he believes that the glowing moon is his father. Baby in the Night is a quietly moving novel that follows our narrator, Tony Volcano Ventura, through his childhood as he grows from a very curious baby into a street-smart toddler and preschooler. Living in a poor neighborhood with his loving mother, Tony grapples with the mystery of who his father is, where he might be, and what happened to him. Over the course of many surreal and secret nighttime forays, Tony eventually finds his way to the truth. Along the way, he befriends a teenage junkie and encounters various neighborhood characters: imposter moons, a giant dog, and a droopy-faced messenger. There's also a mysterious fax machine found in an alleyway-the same alley that Tony thinks might be a hideout full of face-eating pigs. Told from Tony's unusual point of view, Baby in the Night is a novel full of innocence, tragedy, and a melancholy shot through with magic and wonder.
Author: Kevin Sampsell
Publisher: Impeller Press
Published: 10/16/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.58lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.50w x 0.55d
ISBN: 9781967136001
About the Author
Sampsell, Kevin: - Kevin Sampsell is the author of the novel This Is Between Us (Tin House Books) and the memoir A Common Pornography (Harper Perennial). He also edited the anthology Portland Noir (Akashic Books). His short fiction and essays have appeared in many publications and anthologies, including Best American Essays. A collection of his collage art and poetry, I Made an Accident, was published by Clash Books in 2022. Sampsell lives in Portland, Oregon, where he has run the small press Future Tense Books since 1992, and has been a bookseller and events coordinator at Powell's City of Books since 1997.
