Simple Creatures

" Simple Creatures was my introduction to McGill's delightfully ever-so-subtly off-the-wall narrative voice which never fails to be surprising, whether he’s writing from the point of view of a wife watching her 76-year-old philandering husband run races from her wheelchair parked on the sidelines, a PhD candidate writing her thesis on an iconic author whose chronicles of small town Ontario have created their own mythology (and then some), an ASMR Youtuber, a third person story about an endocrinologist reincarnated as a chimpanzee, and more." – Kerry Clare, 49th Shelf

" Simple Creatures stretches the short story to its glorious, contemporary limits. A big-hearted, slick collection that is as playful as it is precise, surprising as it is insightful." – Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Finalist jury citation

“With foot in mouth and tongue in cheek, McGill’s stories are humorous, but that humour goes alongside serious matters that may be ominous.” – Michael Greenstein, The Seaboard Review

"For all the experimentation, humour, and nods to online life, at their core, McGill’s stories are grounded in human feeling—our yearnings, our anxieties, our obsessions, and our relationships with each other." – Monika Warzecha, The Walrus ' "The Best Books of Fall 2024"

" Simple Creatures was my introduction to McGill's delightfully ever-so-subtly off-the-wall narrative voice which never fails to be surprising, whether he’s writing from the point of view of a wife watching her 76-year-old philandering husband run races from her wheelchair parked on the sidelines, a PhD candidate writing her thesis on an iconic author whose chronicles of small town Ontario have created their own mythology (and then some), an ASMR Youtuber, a third person story about an endocrinologist reincarnated as a chimpanzee, and more." – Kerry Clare, 49th Shelf

" Simple Creatures stretches the short story to its glorious, contemporary limits. A big-hearted, slick collection that is as playful as it is precise, surprising as it is insightful." – Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize Finalist jury citation

“With foot in mouth and tongue in cheek, McGill’s stories are humorous, but that humour goes alongside serious matters that may be ominous.” – Michael Greenstein, The Seaboard Review

"For all the experimentation, humour, and nods to online life, at their core, McGill’s stories are grounded in human feeling—our yearnings, our anxieties, our obsessions, and our relationships with each other." – Monika Warzecha, The Walrus ' "The Best Books of Fall 2024"

Robert McGill's writing has appeared in magazines including The Atlantic , The Dublin Review , Hazlitt , and The Walrus . He teaches at the University of Toronto. His previous books include the novels, A Suitable Companion for the End of Your Life , The Mysteries and Once We Had a Country , and two nonfiction books, The Treacherous Imagination and War Is Here . Visit him at robert-mcgill.com.