The Great Awakening

America teeters on the edge. As Donald Trump rallies his base for reelection, paranoia surges— Covid spreads, militias rise, and whispers of a stolen election grow louder. In Arkansas, firebrand preacher-turned-Governor Chick Hecklethorne faces a challenge from Colonel Bedford Stuart Jackson, a Civil War– obsessed reactionary running under the People's Party banner with dreams of a “ New Confederacy of the West.” When wealthy liberal Bingham Proctor Jr. jumps into the race to split the vote, the stage is set for a surreal political showdown. Caught in the chaos is Waymon Reo Wilde, a haunted sniper turned revolutionary, and Jackson’ s wife— a former sex worker who delivers a child that upends everything. In The Great Awakening, Donald Hays delivers a sharp, darkly comic vision of a fractured nation veering off the rails— where power, delusion, and desperation collide in unforgettable ways.

Donald Hays is the author of two novels and a collection of short stories. The Dixie Association was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award. The Hangman’ s Children was a Los Angeles Times Critics Choice book. The title story of Dying Light and Other Stories was reprinted in Best New Stories from the South. Another story won a Pushcart Prize. His stories have appeared in prestigious literary journals and a variety of anthologies. He lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas with his wife, Patty.