Chad Harbach (born 1975) is an American writer. An editor at the journal ''
n + 1'', he is the author of the 2011 novel ''
The Art of Fielding''.
Early life and education
Harbach grew up in
Racine, Wisconsin
Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...
. His father was an accountant and his mother the head of a
Montessori
The Montessori method of education involves children's natural interests and activities rather than formal teaching methods. A Montessori classroom places an emphasis on hands-on learning and developing real-world skills. It emphasizes indepen ...
school. Harbach graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he befriended fellow writers and journalists
Keith Gessen and
Benjamin Kunkel. He received an
MFA from the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
in 2004.
''n + 1''
In 2004,
Mark Greif, Gessen, Harbach, Kunkel, and Marco Roth launched the literary journal ''
n + 1''; Harbach had come up with the name as early as 1998. Harbach is both an editor and writer for the journal, contributing essays on
environmentalism
Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
,
David Foster Wallace
David Foster Wallace (February 21, 1962 – September 12, 2008) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and university professor of English and creative writing. Wallace is widely known for his 1996 novel '' Infinite Jest'', whi ...
, and the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
.
''The Art of Fielding''
Harbach worked on his novel ''
The Art of Fielding'' for nine years. The novel, set at Westish College, a small school on the shore of Lake Michigan, tells the story of the gifted young shortstop Henry Skrimshander, whose errant throw upends the lives of five people. In high school, Harbach had played baseball, along with golf and basketball; in March 2010, he told
Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
, "What fascinates me about baseball is that although it's a team game, and a team becomes a kind of family, the players on the field are each very much alone. Your teammates depend on you and support you, but at the moments that count they can't bail you out."
After a heated auction ($665,000), the book was acquired and published by
Little, Brown
Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown (publisher), James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Ear ...
in the fall of 2011. A ''Vanity Fair'' e-book describing the writing and publication of the novel was later released.
The Art of Fielding was met with extraordinary critical praise. In ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani (born January 9, 1955) is an American writer and retired literary critic, best known for reviewing books for ''The New York Times'' from 1983 to 2017. In that role, she won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1998.
Early life ...
wrote, "'
The Art of Fielding' is not only a wonderful baseball novel—it zooms immediately into the pantheon of classics, alongside ''
The Natural
''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mo ...
'' by
Bernard Malamud
Bernard Malamud (April 26, 1914 – March 18, 1986) was an American novelist and short story writer. Along with Saul Bellow, Joseph Heller, and Philip Roth, he was one of the best known American Jewish authors of the 20th century. His baseba ...
and ''
The Southpaw
Mark Harris (November 19, 1922 – May 30, 2007) was an American novelist, literary biographer, and educator.
Biography
Early life
Harris was born Mark Harris Finkelstein in Mount Vernon, New York, to Carlyle and Ruth (Klausner) Finkelstein. ...
'' by
Mark Harris—but it's also a magical, melancholy story about friendship and coming of age that marks the debut of an immensely talented writer."
''MFA vs NYC''
Harbach edited a book about two American writing cultures, released in February 2014. The book was based on Harbach's widely read essay "MFA vs NYC," and featured essays by n+1 contributors such as Elif Batuman and Keith Gessen, as well as the novelist George Saunders. The Times's Dwight Garner described it as a "serious, helpful and wily book."
Awards and recognition
*2011 ''
The Art of Fielding'' named on ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' Best Books of 2011 list
*2011 ''
The Art of Fielding'' named
Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
's Best Book of the Year
*2012 Bottari Lattes Grinzane nominee for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012 Friends of American Writers Book of the Year for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012
The Guardian First Book Award
The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspa ...
nominee for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012
International Dublin Literary Award
The International Dublin Literary Award ( ga, Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. ...
longlist for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012 Library of Virginia Literary Award nominee for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012
Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ( ...
nominee for Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012 Midwest Booksellers Choice Award for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012 PEN/Hemingway Foundation Award nominee for ''
The Art of Fielding''
*2012 Wisconsin Library Association Literary Award for ''
The Art of Fielding''
Controversy
In September, 2017, writer Charles C. Green sued Chad Harbach claiming "large-scale misappropriation" by Harbach. The suit noted a very strong plot and style resemblance between ''
The Art of Fielding'' and Green's previously completed screenplay, ''Bucky's 9th''. Green claimed Harbach had somehow seen an unpublished version of his manuscript.
In July, 2018, Green's suit was dismissed, though he claimed he intends to appeal.
References
External links
n + 1 Archive Chad HarbachChad Harbach and ''The Art of Fielding'' on NPRChad Harbach discusses writing programs on NPR*
ttps://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/magazine/11BELIEVERS.html A.O. Scott in ''The New York Times Magazine'' on n + 1* ''
Radio Interview with Chad Harbach on "Read First, Ask Later" (Ep. 26)
/span>''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbach, Chad
1975 births
Living people
Harvard College alumni
University of Virginia alumni
21st-century American novelists
American male novelists
Writers from Racine, Wisconsin
American editors
21st-century American male writers
Novelists from Wisconsin