Halle Butler (born 1985 or 1986) is an American author. She grew up in
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
and lives in Chicago. After co-writing two independent films, Butler published her first novel, ''Jillian'' in 2015. Her second novel, ''The New Me'' was released in 2019. Butler was recognised as one of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists and honored as one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35.
Early life and education
Originally from
Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington is a city and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington ...
Whilst working in a succession of menial jobs, Halle Butler co-wrote two independent films, ''Crimes against Humanity'' (2014) and ''Neighborhood Food Drive'' (2017). She released her first novel ''Jillian'' in 2015. The plot concerns the obsession of 24-year-old Megan with her 35-year-old co-worker Jillian. Butler published her second novel ''The New Me'' in 2019. It follows a temporary worker called Millie as she goes from job to job. Writing in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett called it "depressing" and "bleakly funny". Writing for ''
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 ...
'', Jia Tolentino described it as a "definitive work of millennial literature".
Published works
*''Jillian'', Curbside Splendor, 2015.
*''The New Me'',
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists of 2017Best of Young American Novelists of 2017 granta.com
* National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 HonoreeThe National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35, 2017 nationalbook.org