Carolyn Cooke is an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Carolyn Cooke was born on

Mount Desert Island Mount Desert Island (MDI; french: Île des Monts Déserts) in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 52nd-largest island in the United States, the sixth-largest island in the contiguous ...

in Maine. Cooke graduated with a BA from

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

, following which she worked as a magazine editor in New York City for publications including ''

Penthouse Penthouse most often refers to: *Penthouse apartment, a special apartment on the top floor of a building *Penthouse (magazine), ''Penthouse'' (magazine), a British-founded men's magazine *Mechanical penthouse, a floor, typically located directly u ...

'', ''OMNI'', and ''Avenue''. She then earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Career

Cooke is currently a professor in the Department of Interdisciplinary Arts MFA Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where she co-directs the Center for Transformative Media. She has received fellowships from the

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 ...

and the

California Arts Council The California Arts Council is a state agency based in Sacramento, United States. Its eight council members are appointed by the Governor and the state Legislature. The agency's mission is to advance California through arts, culture and creativi ...

. Cooke's stories have appeared in numerous publications including ''

AGNI Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

'', ''

New England Review The ''New England Review'' is an American quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College. It was established in 1978 by Sydney Lea and Jay Parini. From 1982 till 1990, the magazine was named ''New England Review & Bread Loaf Quart ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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. ...

'', and in two volumes each of ''Best American Short Stories'' and ''Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards''. ''The Bostons'', Cooke's first collection of

short stories 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 ...

(2001) won the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize (2002) for a first book and was cited as a

New York Times Notable Book of the Year ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

. The book contained nine interconnected short stories. ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' said of Cooke's debut work that her "attractive voice alternately thrusts bluntly and lilts poetically." Her 2011 novel, ''Daughters of the Revolution'', was a finalist for the Flaherty Dunnan First Novel Prize and was named one of the top ten books of the year by the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' and was among the ''Reviewers' Favorite'' books of 2011 by ''

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 ...

'' magazine. The book is set between 1963 and 2005, and explores issues of class against the backdrop of the sexual and political revolutions during the era. In 2013 Cooke's third book, a collection of 11 stories collectively titled ''Amor and Psycho'', was published by Alfred A. Knopf. The majority of the stories are set in and around San Francisco and New York City. In reviewing the book, critic Georgia Rowe referred to Cooke as one of America's "finest short-story writers". In 2019 Cooke wrote five episodes of ''Die Testament'', a 65-episode 'soapie' for Netwerk 24 in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Personal life

Cooke was married to her husband, poet Randall Babtkis, in 1987.

Works

* ''Amor and Psycho''. Penguin Random House. 2013. * * * ''What the Millions Want: Stories'', Columbia University, 1986

O. Henry Award

* *

Best American Short Stories

* ''The Best American Short Stories 1997'' * * *

References

External links

*
Interview with Carolyn Cooke
a
Readers ReadThe O. Henry Prize Stories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Carolyn American short story writers Living people Writers from Maine People from Mount Desert Island People from Point Arena, California Year of birth missing (living people)