In Timmy Reed’s novella IRL, a lonely social media addict, unemployed and short on rent, logs off and shuts down in the middle of an ugly job search. Alone in mid-town Baltimore, where he’s mostly been online, he takes a little stay-cation. Just a little time, in real life. See what he can get his hands into, see what he can dig up.

Advance praise for IRL

"Timmy Reed is one of the most original prose stylists to come down the pike in the last couple of decades, but there’s more to his work than just style, and that 'more' includes a remarkable emotional honesty. In a hundred unexpected ways, I.R.L. lets you know just what it feels like to live in this weird world we share."

– Madison Smartt Bell

"I.R.L. is probably the best book I've ever read about someone who's addicted to the Internet, and showing what constantly being connected does to how we think, feel, and act. And this book is pretty funny while at the same time being deeply disturbing. Every time I read more Reed I want to keep reading more Reed. You will too."

– Jamie Iredell

Timmy Reed is a teacher and fiction writer from Baltimore. He is the author of the books Tell God I Don’t Exist, The Ghosts That Surround Them, Stray/Pest, Miraculous Fauna, and Star Backwards. His short fiction can be found in many places, including Akashic Books, Vol. 1 Brooklyn, Necessary Fiction and The Wigleaf Top 50. In 2015, he was awarded a Baker Artist b-grant for his body of work.

excerpt Chapter 1