Overview

Literary & Lyrical: A meditation on memory, desire, and the truths we speak only to ourselves. A haunting meditation on love, loss, and the complexities of memory, Who By Fire is the acclaimed novel from literary master Mary L. Tabor. Originally praised for its lyrical structure and emotional depth, this reissue brings a quiet yet resonant story to a new generation of readers. Told from the perspective of a male narrator unraveling the tangled threads of his past, Who By Fire explores the fault lines of desire and betrayal with rare restraint and intimacy. In luminous prose, Tabor captures the unspoken truths between people-the things we hide, the moments we revisit, and the love that refuses to let go. Critics and authors alike have celebrated the novel's beauty and complexity. Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler calls it ""a lovely, innovative, deeply engaging novel about how it is that human beings make their way through the mysteries of existence."" Lee Martin describes it as ""a lyric meditation on love and desire,"" while Marly Swick hails it as ""intricately layered... this is beautiful truth."" Part of Empress Editions' Spring 2026 list, Who By Fire reflects the publisher's commitment to literary fiction that explores midlife reinvention and intellectual power. This edition will be released across all formats and supported by a robust campaign, including potential for podcast adaptations, film/TV development, and immersive reader experiences. Mary L. Tabor, known for her deep emotional intelligence and elegant craft, retains full ownership of ancillary media and will collaborate closely with Empress Editions on the book's relaunch.

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Reviews

""Who By Fire is a profound and lyrical novel, deeply felt and deeply moving. Intricately layered, this novel loops through time with the daredevil courage and grace of a seasoned stunt pilot. In the narrator's unflinching journey of self-discovery, he comes to understand the past, both his failures and his saving graces. In the end, it is a hero's journey, both for the narrator and the reader. This is beautiful truth.""--Marly Swick, author of Paper Wings and The Evening News --Marly, The Evening News ""Mary Tabor's captivating story of love and death tackles the tangle of relationships within and outside the bonds of marriage. Her eye-popping knowledge of men's and women's behavior is effortlessly recounted as couples face their anguished choices. Set in a world of art, music, anthropology, and science, her novel enlightens the mind while it stirs the emotions. She does all this in a confident style of prose that ranks her alongside the finest novelists working today.""--Michael Johnson, foreign correspondent and writer for the International Herald Tribune, American Spectator, Open Letters Monthly, and TheColumnists.com --Michael Johnson, International Herald Tribune ""Mary L. Tabor's Who by Fire is a lovely, innovative, deeply engaging novel about how it is that human beings make their way through the mysteries of existence."" --Robert Olen Butler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain --Robert Olen Butler ""Mary Tabor's Who by Fire, is a lyric meditation on love and desire, one that will catch you up in the blaze of its eroticism, its tender evocation of love and the passions and accommodations of a life lived through the flesh and through the imagination. Can memory lead to forgiveness? Who by Fire explores that question in a story I won't soon forget. The beauty of the prose, the nuances of the characters, the ever-building plot--everything is in place for a novel that will touch you in all the right ways."" --Lee Martin, author of Break the Skin and The Bright Forever, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize --Lee Martin

""Mary L. Tabor's Who by Fire is a lovely, innovative, deeply engaging novel about how it is that human beings make their way through the mysteries of existence."" --Robert Olen Butler, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain --Robert Olen Butler ""Mary Tabor's Who by Fire, is a lyric meditation on love and desire, one that will catch you up in the blaze of its eroticism, its tender evocation of love and the passions and accommodations of a life lived through the flesh and through the imagination. Can memory lead to forgiveness? Who by Fire explores that question in a story I won't soon forget. The beauty of the prose, the nuances of the characters, the ever-building plot--everything is in place for a novel that will touch you in all the right ways."" --Lee Martin, author of Break the Skin and The Bright Forever, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize --Lee Martin

Author Information

Mary L. Tabor is an award-winning writer known for her lyrical prose and emotional precision. Working across fiction, memoir, and personal essay, she explores women's lives, memory, and reinvention--often in the charged spaces between love and loss, silence and revelation. A late-blooming literary voice, Tabor published her debut story collection, The Woman Who Never Cooked, to critical acclaim following a distinguished career in journalism, corporate communications, and motherhood. Her memoir, (Re)Making Love: A Memoir, was praised for its candor and elegance, tracing a midlife transformation with uncommon clarity and insight. Her novel Who By Fire, now reissued by Empress Editions, is widely regarded as her most ambitious work. Lauded by Pulitzer Prize-winning writers and critics alike, it demonstrates her gift for layered narrative and emotional depth. Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Martin has called it ""a lyric meditation on love and desire,"" while International Herald Tribune critic Michael Johnson wrote that it ""ranks her alongside the finest novelists working today."" Tabor holds an MFA from The Ohio State University, where she taught creative writing and received the university's Distinguished Teaching Award (Fellowship Award). Her work has appeared in leading literary journals, including The Missouri Review, The Sun, Narrative Magazine, Catapult, Hayden's Ferry Review, Catamaran, and Short Édition, among others. She has also been a frequent guest on NPR affiliates and literary podcasts, speaking about writing, reinvention, and the female voice in midlife. She lives and writes in Washington, DC, and Los Angeles. In addition to her writing and teaching, Tabor collaborates with Empress Editions on bespoke reader experiences and literary media that extend the life of a story beyond the page.

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