Mid-Recession, Fredrick Soukup graduated college with two things: a fiction obsession and an alp of student-loan debt. So, while writing, he worked anywhere he could: as a meat slicer at a delicatessen in Fargo, a personal care advocate at a group home in Saint Paul, and a call center representative for an insurance company in Minneapolis. He found his most formative employment as a guard at the Juvenile Detention Center in Saint Paul. Working with disadvantaged black youth in the city he ultimately called home educated him about the privileges of being a white man in America. This education was the force behind his debut novel, Bliss—a love story that explores how socioeconomic and racial differences affect relationships.

Bliss earned Soukup recognition from the Minnesota Book Awards (2021 Finalist), Independent Publisher Book Awards (2020 Bronze Medalist), and the Eric Hoffer Award (2020 Finalist). His second novel, Blood Up North, was released in February 2022 from Vine Leaves Press. The novel has been recognized by the NYC Big Book Awards (2022 Winner), American Fiction Awards (2022 Finalist), and the Eric Hoffer Award (2022 Finalist). Soukup’s third novel, Ashes, Ashes, was recognized by the Petrichor Prize (2021 Finalist) and was released in April 2024 from Vine Leaves Press.

Soukup received a philosophy degree from St. John’s University (Minnesota) in 2010. Excerpts from his works have been published in Fluent Magazine and Sou’wester. He was a semifinalist for the 2017 American Short Fiction Prize and shortlisted by C&R Press for its 2019 Book Award. Soukup lives in Saint Paul with his brilliant wife, Ashley.

Recognition

  • BLOOD UP NORTH won the 2022 NYC Big Book Award for Literary Fiction - NYC Big Book Award

  • BLOOD UP NORTH was a Literary Fiction Finalist for the 2022 American Fiction Awards - American Book Fest

  • BLOOD UP NORTH was named a 2022 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist - Eric Hoffer

  • ASHES ASHES was longlisted for the 2021 Petrichor Prize - Regal House Publishing

  • BLISS was named a 2021 Minnesota Book Award Finalist (Novel & Short Story) - Minnesota Book Award

  • BLISS was recognized with a 2020 IPPY bronze medal for the Great Lakes Region Best Fiction - IPPY

  • BLISS was named a 2020 Eric Hoffer Book Award Finalist - Eric Hoffer

  • BLOOD UP NORTH was shortlisted for the 2019 C&R Press Book Award - C&R Press

  • Soukup’s short story THE DOE was named a 2017 semifinalist for the American Short Fiction Prize