Teaching

After earning a Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 from Vassar College

Vassar College

Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...

 in 1990, Hrbek taught kindergarten

Kindergarten

A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 for three years in San Francisco and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, before studying for a Master of Fine Arts

Master of Fine Arts

A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...

 degree in English at the Iowa Writers' Workshop

Iowa Writers' Workshop

The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...

, which he completed in 1995. The University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

 awarded him an Iowa Arts Fellowship, and he won a James A. Michener Fellowship in 1995, which allowed him to write in California for a year, before returning to Vassar to teach half time in the English Department.

From 1999-2000, Hrbek taught fiction writing full time at Butler University

Butler University

Butler University is a private university located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university offers 60 degree programs to 4,400 students through six colleges: business, communication, education, liberal Arts and sciences, pharmacy and health...

, then was awarded the year 2000 Alfred Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University

Princeton University

Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....

, where he lived as fiction writer in residence. Since 2001, Hrbek has been teaching fiction writing courses as Writer-in-Residence at Skidmore College

Skidmore College

Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....

 in Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Springs, also known as simply Saratoga, is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 26,586 at the 2010 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area. While the word "Saratoga" is known to be a corruption of a Native American name, ...

, where he lives with his wife, son and daughter.

Writing

In 1996, at the age of 27, Hrbek won the James Jones First Novel Award for his first novel in progress, The Hindenburg Crashes Nightly, a complex story of obsessive, lifelong love. He had worked on this book for two years at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and in California, and at Vassar while teaching. It was published in 1999 by Bard/Avon (ISBN 978-0380977413), and was widely reviewed, favorably by Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...

and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, mixed by the New York Times and Rocky Mountain News

Rocky Mountain News

The Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...

.

Since 1999, Hrbek has written short fiction, with stories appearing in Harper's Magazine

Harper's Magazine

Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...

, Salmagundi

Salmagundi

Salmagundi is a salad dish, originating in the early 17th century in England, comprising cooked meats, seafood, vegetables, fruit, leaves, nuts and flowers and dressed with oil, vinegar and spices. There is some debate over the meaning and origin of the word...

, Idaho Review, Conjunctions

Conjunctions

Conjunctions, is a biannual American literary journal based at Bard College. It was founded in 1981 and is currently edited by Bradford Morrow....

, and Black Warrior Review

Black Warrior Review

The Black Warrior Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1974 and based at the University of Alabama. Work appearing in BWR has been anthologized in the Pushcart Prize collection, The Best American Short Stories , Best American Poetry, New Stories from the South. The Spring 1978 issue...

. His short story "Green World" (Harper's), was a finalist for the 1999 National Magazine Award

National Magazine Award

The National Magazine Awards are a series of US awards that honor excellence in the magazine industry. They are administered by the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City...

 in Fiction. "Bereavement" was a finalist for the 2007 Robert Olen Butler Prize

Robert Olen Butler Prize

The Robert Olen Butler Prize is a prize for short fiction awarded by Del Sol Press in conjunction with Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Robert Olen Butler, who chooses the winning story. The winning stories are also collected into an annual anthology, The Robert Olen Butler Prize Anthology. As of...

, while "The Cliffs at Marpi" was a finalist for the 2006 Bridport Prize

Bridport prize

The Bridport Prize International Creative Writing Competition was founded in 1973 and has steadily grown in stature and prestige. Today many thousands of entries are received from over 80 countries. In many cases a win in the Bridport Prize has led to further successes and helped to launch new...

, each appearing in the respective anthologies. "Sagittarius" was a selection for The Best American Short Stories 2009

The Best American Short Stories 2009

The Best American Short Stories 2009, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Alice Sebold.-Short Stories included:...

. A collection of these short stories, Destroy All Monsters, was published by Bison Books in 2011, ISBN 978-0803236448. It won the 2010 Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction.