Ann Packer (author)
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Ann Packer (born 1959) is an American novelist and short story writer, perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed first novel ''The Dive From Clausen's Pier''. She is the recipient of a James Michener Award and a
National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...
fellowship.


Personal life

Packer was born in Stanford, California. She is the daughter of
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
professors Herbert L. Packer and Nancy Huddleston Packer. Her mother was a student of the historian/novelist
Wallace Stegner Wallace Earle Stegner (February 18, 1909 – April 13, 1993) was an American novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian, often called "The Dean of Western Writers". He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 and the U.S. National Book ...
at the Stanford Writing Program; Nancy Packer later joined the Stanford faculty as professor of English and creative writing. Her father was on the faculty of
Stanford Law School Stanford Law School (Stanford Law or SLS) is the law school of Stanford University, a private research university near Palo Alto, California. Established in 1893, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world. Stanford La ...
, where he highlighted the tensions between Due Process and Crime Control. In 1969, when Ann was 10 years old, he suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. He committed suicide three years later. Her uncle, George Huddleston, Jr., and her grandfather, George Huddleston, Sr., were congressmen from
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. Her brother,
George Packer George Packer (born August 13, 1960) is a US journalist, novelist, and playwright. He is best known for his writings for ''The New Yorker'' and ''The Atlantic'' about U.S. foreign policy and for his book '' The Assassins' Gate: America in Iraq''. ...
, is a novelist, journalist, and playwright. Her father was Jewish and her mother was from a Christian background. She has two children and is married to the novelist and screenwriter
Rafael Yglesias Rafael Yglesias is an American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels, Hide Fox, And All After, A Happy Marriage, and the 1993 movie ''Fearless'', which he adapted from his own novel of the same name. He is the father of Nicholas and ...
. She lives in the Bay Area and New York City.


Career

Packer was an English major at
Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, but only began writing fiction during her senior year. She moved to New York after college and took a job writing paperback cover copy at
Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
. She attended the
Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...
from 1986 to 1988, selling her first short story to ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' a few weeks before receiving her M.F.A. degree. In 1988 Packer moved to Madison, Wisconsin as a fellow at the Wisconsin Institute for Creative Writing. During her two years in Wisconsin she published stories in literary magazines, including the story "Babies", which was included in the 1992
O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...
prize stories collection. The ''New Yorker'' story, "Mendocino", became the title story of her first book, ''Mendocino and Other Stories'', published by
Chronicle Books Chronicle Books is a San Francisco-based American publisher of books for adults and children. The company was established in 1967 by Phelps Dewey, an executive with Chronicle Publishing Company, then-publisher of the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. ...
in 1994. Packer spent almost 10 years writing ''The Dive From Clausen's Pier''. Geri Thoma of the Elaine Markson Agency agreed to take on the book and sold it almost immediately to the editor Jordan Pavlin at
Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
. It was the first selection of the ''
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'' “Read This!” book club and received a Great Lakes Book Award, an American Library Association Award, and the
Kate Chopin Kate Chopin (, also ; born Katherine O'Flaherty; February 8, 1850 – August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is considered by scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminis ...
Literary Award. Packer’s next two books were also published by
Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Alfred A. Knopf Sr. and Blanche Knopf in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers in ...
: a novel, ''Songs Without Words'' (2007), and a collection of short fiction, ''Swim Back to Me'' (2011). "Things Said or Done," one of the stories in ''Swim Back to Me'', was included in the 2012
O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...
prize stories collection. ''The Children's Crusade'' was published by Scribner in 2015 and was named one of the ten best books of 2015 by ''
People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...
''. In addition to fiction, Packer has written essays for ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
', ''
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,'' ''
Real Simple ''Real Simple'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. The magazine features articles and information related to homemaking, childcare, cooking, and emotional well-being. The magazine is distinguished by its clean, unclut ...
'' and ''
O, the Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. Overview It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...
''. ''The Dive from Clausen's Pier'' was adapted into a cable television film, which was not well received by fans of the novel. Among its difficulties were making the characters much younger than they were in the novel.


Books

*''Mendocino and other Stories'' (1994) Chronicle Books; (2003) Vintage Books *''The Dive From Clausen's Pier'' (2002) Alfred A. Knopf *''Songs Without Words'' (2007) Alfred A. Knopf *''Swim Back to Me'' (2011) Alfred A. Knopf *''The Children's Crusade'' (2015) Scribner


Essays

This list is taken from Ann Packer's official website.
Books," published in the Author's Note of ''The New York Times'' Book Review May 29, 2016
* ttp://www.annpacker.com/other-writing/thanks-for-the-ride/ "Thanks For The Ride," Published in the Life Lessons feature of Real Simple, June 2011br>"Bag Lady" published in Plenty, December, January 2008.

“My Life in Food,” published in Death by Pad Thai and Other Unforgettable Meals, Douglas Bauer, editor. This essay was also published, in an abridged form, in the Life Lessons feature of Real Simple, November, 2006.

“Out in the World,” published in the Writing Life feature of The Washington Post, October 31, 2004.

“The Preppy Look,” published in the Nostalgia feature of Vogue, November, 2004.


References


External links


Ann Packer Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Ann 1959 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American women novelists People from Stanford, California 21st-century American women writers Yale University alumni Novelists from California