The Moose Lottery is a novella written in a style of hardscrabble New England gothic. It follows logger and father Carl Riendeau as he struggles to maintain a grip on his life through a series of bad choices and disasters. After winning a coveted place in the state’s seasonal moose hunt, Carl’s luck turns for the worse: his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his son sustains serious injuries in a car accident and faces federal charges for drug trafficking; as Carl tries to raise the money for her legal fees, fight her parents for custody of his son, and help his friend deal with layoffs and a coming recession, he determines to bring eight-year-old Luca moose hunting with him no matter the consequences.
The character-driven narrative turns on questions of trust and miscommunication in an unforgiving rural environment, exploring violence and tenderness toward both human and nonhuman life.
About Kelly E. Sullivan
Kelly E. Sullivan is the author of the novella Winter Bayou (Lilliput Press, Dublin) and two poetry chapbooks, Fell Year (Green Bottle) and Toledo Blade (Dancing Girl Press). Her poems and short fiction have appeared in Salmagundi, The Hopkins Review, Southword, Poetry Ireland Review, and elsewhere. She is a clinical professor of literature at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University, and lives in New York City and Masthope, PA. Find more at kellyesullivan.com.
150 pages
Paperback with perfect-bound spine
Published on July 14, 2026
ISBN: 979-8-90214-226-3
PRAISE FOR THE MOOSE LOTTERY
"With a poet’s sensibility and an almost uncanny appreciation for the intersection of small- town life with the vast natural world of northern New England, Kelly Sullivan has crafted a tale both somber and beautiful. In the spirit of a classic tragedy, The Moose Lottery centers on Carl Riendeau, an ordinary person whose extraordinary devotion to people he loves impels him to pin his hopes on an increasingly elusive creature. Rich with sensory detail, as well as metaphor, this short novel moves with assurance toward its suspenseful final pages. I doubt I will ever forget the ending."
— Catherine Tudish, author of A Thousand Souls: A Novel in Stories
"A poignant, heartbreaking, story of how good people act in times of adversity and the role chance plays in their lives, written with great compassion and sensitivity. Harrowing and unsettling, it's also profoundly insightful about human behaviour and the compromises we make."
— Mary Costello, author of Academy Street and A Beautiful Loan
"A masterfully controlled and constrained story–tender as it is hard–of love, luck, compromise, and the eleventh-hour choices that might set so many wrongs right. Sullivan has written a poetic and timeless tale that hums with atmosphere, suspense and insight."
— Caoilinn Hughes, author of The Alternatives and The Wild Laughter
"A sharp, intense burst of a short novel–a beautifully written vision–with a central character whose hope and despair will stay with you a long time."
— Emilie Pine, author of Notes to Self and Ruth & Pen