Charles Blackstone (born March 21, 1977)Kevin Frazier
"Wine and Bellow: An Interview with Charles Blackstone,"
Open Letters Monthly, Fall 2013. is an American writer. His most recent novel is the semi-autobiographical ''Vintage Attraction'' (2013).

Early life

Blackstone was born and raised in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He graduated from the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a Public university, public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus esta ...

Kelli Christiansen
"We'll Drink to That,"
Chicago Book Review, October 11, 2013. and earned a master's degree from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

creative writing program in 2003, where he received the Barker Award for Fiction in 2001."Vintage Attraction with Charles Blackstone,"
citylitbooks.com. Accessed December 20, 2013.

Career

Early work

Blackstone's first novel was the avant-garde ''The Week You Weren't Here'' (2005), set in Chicago in the spring of 2001. Jill Talbot
"An interview with Charles Blackstone,"
''

Word Riot ''Word Riot'' was an American online magazine that published poetry, flash fiction, short stories, novel excerpts, creative nonfiction, reviews, and interviews. History and profile The magazine was launched in March 2002 by author and publisher ...

''. Accessed December 16, 2013. Using experimental prose, the story follows Hunter Flanagan on his search for true love. Next, he collaborated with Jill Talbot as co-editors of the experimental anthology ''The Art of Friction: Where (Non)Fictions Come Together'' (2008),Sabra Embury
"Expedient Pairings: On Charles Blackstone's 'Vintage Attraction',"
''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'', October 30, 2013. a collection exploring the creative differences between fiction and nonfiction.J. Ryan Stradal
"The Sunday Rumpus Interview: Charles Blackstone,"

The Rumpus ''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as original fiction and poetry. The site runs two subscription-base ...

, October 13, 2013. His stories have been published in literary journals including ''Bridge'', ''

Evergreen Review ''The Evergreen Review'' is a U.S.-based literary magazine. Its publisher is John Oakes and its editor-in-chief is Dale Peck. The ''Evergreen Review'' was founded by Barney Rosset, publisher of Grove Press. It existed in print from 1957 until 19 ...

'' and ''The Journal of Experimental Fiction''. His short story "Before" was published in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' in March 2008 as part of the magazine's Napkin Fiction series.

''Vintage Attraction''

Set in Chicago and Greece, Blackstone's semi-autobiographical second novel ''Vintage Attraction'' is a depiction of the academia, celebrity and fine wine culture. The novel is inspired by his courtship of

Alpana Singh Alpana Singh (born November 1976) is an American Master Sommelier (although she renounced the title in 2020), restaurateur and local television personality in Chicago, Illinois. Early life Singh is a second-generation Indian American, born and ra ...

, a master sommelier and TV show host whom he would later marry. The character Peter Hapworth, a lonely 30-something adjunct creative writing professor, is based on Blackstone, and Isabelle "Izzy" Conway, who hosts a wine-tasting program, is based on Singh.Kevin Nance
"Courting Alpana Singh inspires Charles Blackstone's 'Vintage Attraction',"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'', November 3, 2013. The novel took Blackstone four years to write. Writing for the ''

'', Sabra Embry said that ''Vintage Attractions fantasy vs. reality love story was poignant. Reviewing for the ''

Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by a ...

'' Aimee Levitt described the book as awkwardly written, and the protagonist as unsympathetic. ''

Gapers Block Gapers Block (Gapers Block Media, LLC) was a Chicago-centric web publication focused on covering Chicago culture under the tag line: "''Slow down and check out Chicago''". The site, gapersblock.com, lists local events, aggregates other Chicago blog ...

'' reviewer Ines Bellina praised the descriptions of wine, food, and local Chicago landmarks, but called the plot dull. Michael Lindgren of ''

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 ...

'' called the book "a slapdash, irritating affair."

Other projects

In 2010 Blackstone began serving as managing editor of Bookslut, a literary website founded by

Jessa Crispin Jessa Crispin (born c. 1978 in Lincoln, Kansas) is a critic, author, feminist, and the editor-in-chief of ''Bookslut'', a litblog and webzine founded in 2002. She has published three books, most recently ''Why I Am Not A Feminist: A Feminist Man ...

in 2002. He has worked with writers and served as an editor for the site's monthly reviews. In 2015, Blackstone taught writing at the

Gotham Writers' Workshop Gotham Writers Workshop is the United States's largest adult-education writing school. It was founded in New York City in 1993 by writers Jeff Fligelman and David Grae. It was one of the first schools to offer online education, launching its onl ...

in New York City, where he lives.

Personal life

Blackstone married

sommelier A sommelier ( or or ; ), or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the wine steward in hau ...

and restaurant critic Alpana Singh in 2006. The couple divorced in 2014. In 2016, Blackstone married Caroline Eick, a senior vice president with Philadelphia-based healthcare marketing firm Calcium.

Honors

's Barker Award for Fiction, 2001 * ''

Newcity Newcity is a media company based in Chicago, founded in 1986 by Brian and Jan Hieggelke." It started as the ''Newcity'' independent, free weekly newspaper in Chicago. Effective March 2017, the founders changed the newspaper into a glossy monthly ...

s Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago, 2012 * ''Newcitys Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago, 2013Brian Hieggelke and Naomi Huffman
"Lit 50: Who Really Books in Chicago 2013,"
''Newcity'', June 6, 2013.

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''The Week You Weren't Here'' (2005, Low Fidelity Press) * ''Vintage Attraction'' (2013, Pegasus)

Nonfiction

* ''The Art of Friction: Where (Non)Fictions Come Together'' (2008,

University of Texas Press The University of Texas Press (or UT Press) is a university press that is part of the University of Texas at Austin. Established in 1950, the Press publishes scholarly books and journals in several areas, including Latin American studies, Texan ...

) – editor, with Jill Talbot

Collections

* ''The & Now Awards: The Best Innovative Writing''
"Before"
(2009, Lake Forest College Press); originally appeared in ''

'', March 2008

References

External links

Official website

Interview at Entropy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackstone, Charles 1977 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers