His writing can be intensely straight-forward, sometimes candid, sometimes not, while incorporating a variety of the most horrific elements of life. It's not "horror", and the ways the stories can be so disturbing might initially creep up on you in manners you can't quite pinpoint.
American-born, but having lived abroad much of his life, Brian holds a Ph.D. in literature and critical theory from the University of Washington and currently teaches creative writing at the University of Denver. He is a senior editor for Conjunctions magazine. Formerly he was an English Department professor at Brigham Young University and Oklahoma State University, and a recipient of an NEA Creative Writing Fellowship and an O. Henry Award.