Simon Van Booy 
Tales of Accidental Genius 
Stories

She believed it was a gift to never truly know the self. We are not who we think we are, nor how others see us. Long before death, we die a thousand times at the hands of a definition.A master storytellers vision reawakens us to the human experience in this diverse, haunting, and unexpectedly humorous new collection of short fiction from Simon Van Booyhis first since Love Begins in Winter, winner of the Frank OConnor International Short Story Award.In his first book of short stories since Love Begins in Winter, for which he won the Frank OConnor International Short Story Award), bestselling author Simon Van Booy offers a collection of stories highlighting how human genius can emerge through acts of compassion. Through characters including an eccentric film director, an aging Cockney bodyguard, the teenage child of Nigerian immigrants, a divorced amateur magician from New Jersey, and a Beijing street vendor who becomes an overnight billionaire, Tales of Accidental Genius contemplates individuals from different cultures, racesrich and poor, young and oldand reveals how faith and yearning for connection helps us all transcend darkness of fear and misfortune.