Mark Costello, a native of Decatur, Illinois, is the author of the story collections The Murphy Stories, which won the St. Lawrence Award for Short Fiction, and Middle Murphy. The Murphy Stories has received praise and one of its stories, Murphy's Xmas was anthologized in several collections. Costello taught for many years at the University of Illinois-Urbana as a creative writing instructor, and served as a visiting writer at many universities and colleges. He held the Endowed Chair in Creative Writing at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa and was writer-in-residence at the University of Iowa Writers Workshop for one year. His story Room 601 has received praise. Costello is known for his careful, exacting use of language, and the introspective nature of his characters. The stories are set in central Illinois and feature a hard-drinking, hard-living character, Michael Murphy. Costello's work has appeared in literary magazines and anthologies, including The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction, The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, and Best American Short Stories. 

Decatur