Baby In The Night
by Kevin Sampsell
FORTHCOMING — Publishes March 17, 2026.
Pre-order your copy from Asterism Books
“One of the Northwest’s best writers.”
— Willy Vlautin, author of Northline and The Motel Life
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.
Praise for Kevin Sampsell
"Kevin Sampsell is the original unadorned romantic. His writing makes you love him, and it's easy all the way down.”
—Susie Bright, author of Big Sex, Little Death
“For beauty, honesty, sheer weirdness, and a haunting evocation of place, Kevin Sampsell is my favorite Oregon writer. Ken Kesey, Chuck Palahniuk—make some room on the shelf.”
— Sean Wilsey, author of Oh the Glory of it All
“Kevin Sampsell straddles the line between candor and oversharing with an artful grace I found infectious."
—Patrick deWitt, author of Ablutions and The Sisters Brothers
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Kevin Sampsell is a Portland writer, collage artist, bookseller, and the publisher of Future Tense Books. His previous books include the novel This Is Between Us, the memoir A Common Pornography, the illustrated book Sean the Stick, and I Made an Accident, a collection of poems and collages. His stories and essays have appeared in many publications including Salon, The Believer, Joyland, Southwest Review, Diagram, Longreads, The Rumpus, Tin House, McSweeney's, and Best American Essays.
US$20
240pp / 5.5x8” / perfect-bound paperback
Printed and bound in the US by Ingram Publishing Services
Distributed by Asterism Books
Impeller Press Books B-020
ISBN 9781967136001
Publication date: March 17, 2026