Theodore C. Van Alst Jr.

THEODORE C. VAN ALST JR.  is the author of Chicago-set award-winning story collections Sacred Smokes, Sacred City, and Sacred Folks as well as the novella Pour One for the Devil. He is the co-editor of the award-winning, bestselling Never Whistle at Night series from Vintage/Penguin Random House. His debut novel, The El, a Chicago Public Library Favorite Book of 2025, was shortlisted for the Pattis Family Foundation Book Award as well as the Chicago Reader’s Best New Book of 2025, received a Booklist starred review, and won the 2025 Chicago Review of Books Fiction of the Year. His upcoming novel Sunshine Home will be published by Vintage/Penguin Random House.