Andrea Barrett (born November 16, 1954) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

and

short story writer A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

. Her collection ''Ship Fever'' won the 1996 U.S.

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

, and she received a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

in 2001. Her book ''Servants of the Map'' was a finalist for the 2003

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

, and ''Archangel'' was a finalist for the 2013

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...

."The Story Prize Winner & Finalists - 2013"
. The Story Prize. Retrieved March 22, 2014.

Early life and education

Barrett was born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. She earned a B.A. in biology from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

and briefly attended a Ph.D. program in

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Career

Barrett began writing fiction seriously in her thirties, but was relatively unknown until the publication of ''Ship Fever'', a collection of novellas and short stories that won the National Book Award in 1996. Barrett's work has been published in ''

A Public Space ''A Public Space'' is a nonprofit triquarterly English-language literary magazine based in Brooklyn, New York. First published in April 2006, ''A Public Space'' publishes fiction, poetry, essays and art. The magazine's Focus portfolios have exam ...

'',"''The Investigators'' in ''A Public Space'' Issue 18"
. Retrieved 2013-07-6. ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Philip ...

'', ''

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer of 1998. He enlisted Holly MacArt ...

'', ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Boston. ...

'', ''

One Story ''One Story'' is a literary magazine which publishes 12 issues a year, each issue containing a single short story. The magazine was founded in 2002 by writers Hannah Tinti and Maribeth Batcha. Smith, Dinitia. They offer up to $500 and 25 consumer ...

'', ''

Triquarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books, both operating under the aegis of Northwestern University Press. The journal is published twice a year and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, liter ...

'', ''

Salmagundi Salmagundi (or salmagundy or sallid magundi) is a cold dish or salad made from different ingredients which may include meat, seafood, eggs, cooked vegetables, raw vegetables, fruits or pickles. In English culture, the term does not refer to a s ...

'', ''

The American Scholar "The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his gr ...

'', and ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

'', among other places. Her fiction and essays have been selected for ''

Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

'', '' Best American Science Writing'', ''

Best American Essays ''The Best American Essays'' is a yearly anthology of magazine articles published in the United States.Robert Atwan (ed.), Adam Gopnick (guest ed.). ''The Best American Essays 2008'', Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. It was started in 1986 and is ...

'', the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories,"''The Particles'' selected for The O. Henry Prize Stories 2013"
Retrieved July 5, 2013. and other anthologies. Barrett is particularly well known as a writer of

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

. Her work reflects her lifelong interest in science, and

women in science The presence of women in science spans the earliest times of the history of science wherein they have made significant contributions. Historians with an interest in gender and science have researched the scientific endeavors and accomplishments ...

. Many of her characters are scientists, often 19th-century biologists. Some of her characters have appeared in more than one story or novel. In an appendix to her novel ''The Air We Breathe'' (2007), Barrett supplied a family tree, making clear the characters' relationships that began in ''Ship Fever''. Barrett was a fellow at the

Center for Scholars and Writers Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. She lives in the eastern

Adirondacks The Adirondack Mountains (; a-də-RÄN-dak) form a massif in northeastern New York with boundaries that correspond roughly to those of Adirondack Park. They cover about 5,000 square miles (13,000 km2). The mountains form a roughly circular d ...

, near

Lake Champlain , native_name_lang = , image = Champlainmap.svg , caption = Lake Champlain-River Richelieu watershed , image_bathymetry = , caption_bathymetry = , location = New York/Vermont in the United States; and Quebec in Canada , coords = , type = , ...

Works

Novels

* (1988) ''Lucid Stars'' * (1989) ''Secret Harmonies'' * (1991) ''The Middle Kingdom'' * (1993) ''The Forms of Water'' * (1998) ''The Voyage of the Narwhal'' * (2007) ''The Air We Breathe''

Short story collections

* (1996) ''Ship Fever'' — winner of the

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

"National Book Awards – 1996"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
(With essay by Julia Glass from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) * (2002) ''Servants of the Map'' — finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

"Fiction"
''Past winners & finalists by category''. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved March 27, 2012. * (2013) ''Archangel'' * (2022) ''Natural History''

References

External links

* *
Audio recording of Andrea Barrett reading from ''Ship Fever''
2009 Key West Literary Seminar

Interview, ''Identity Theory'' (2002)

''Salon'' (1998)
A sample manuscript page
''The Paris Review'' (2003) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Andrea 1954 births Living people American women novelists American women short story writers National Book Award winners MacArthur Fellows Union College (New York) alumni Writers from Boston 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers Novelists from Massachusetts O. Henry Award winners