Oxford resident and Ole Miss writing Professor Eliot Parker has won the 2025 Eric Hoffer Award for his new short story anthology, “Table for Two.”

The Eric Hoffer Book Award is one of the top literary awards for independent books, involving over 2,500 books, 25 all-inclusive categories, and nearly 200 judges.

Parker’s story collection depicts events between two people who must listen to each other in order to resolve their issues. But will they? Hearts are broken and lessons are learned within the stories and unexpected turns and mixed conclusions lead to tension on each page.

The 2025 Eric Hoffer judges said that Parker’s collection “spans different genres and the characters that populate each story strive for conclusion. The result is always an insightful and entertaining read.

Parker says he got the thematic idea for the collection following the COVID pandemic.

“After the pandemic ended, I heard a lot of people say that the one thing they missed the most during the lockdown was being able to have coffee or lunch with a friend, in person,” he said. “When I started writing the stories in 2021, I thought a collection centered on two-person conversations would be interesting and fun.”

The Eric Hoffer Book Awards are named after American philosopher Eric Hoffer, who authored 10 books and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in February 1983. Colorful Crow Press, based in Georgia, focus on publishing diverse voices where every story matters.

Copies of Parker’s collection Table for Two are available anywhere books are sold or by visiting http://www.colorfulcrowpublishing.com.