He worked as a lawyer for five years in Baton Rouge, Louisiana[2] before committing fully to writing and teaching.

His story collection The Southern Cross, which won the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference Bakeless Prize,[3] was published in 2009 by Mariner Books.

Hailed as a "storyteller of uncommon talent", Horack's stories are "artfully evoked and deeply felt"[4] and depict characters that are "vital, funny, and heartbreakingly human".

[5] His novel The Eden Hunter was published in August 2010 by Counterpoint and was a New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice.

Reviewer Sven Birkerts noted: "Horack, the author of a well-received story collection, The Southern Cross, writes luminous, clean prose...