John Lewis Englehardt III (born May 23, 1987) is an American fiction writer and educator. His debut novel is ''Bloomland''.

Life and career

Englehardt earned a BA in creative writing from

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate prog ...

and a MFA from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. Englehardt taught

English composition The term composition (from Latin ''com-'' "with" and ''ponere'' "to place") as it refers to writing, can describe writers' decisions about, processes for designing, and sometimes the final product of, a document. In original use, it tended to desc ...

and creative writing classes at the

while completing his MFA. After completing his MFA, Englehardt worked as a

contributing editor A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership dra ...

at Pacifica Literary Review, and was selected as a 2015 Made at Hugo House Fellow. His debut novel ''Bloomland'' was published by Dzanc Books in 2019. His writing has appeared in Sycamore Review, The Stranger, Vol. 1 Brooklyn,

Monkeybicycle ''Monkeybicycle'' is a literary journal with both print and Web versions. It was founded in 2002 in Seattle, Washington, by Steven Seighman. He was intent on publishing both well-known writers and those who might not have been heard of yet, but s ...

, and The Seattle Review of Books, among other

publications To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Conve ...

. Englehardt currently teaches writing classes at

Hugo House Hugo House is a non-profit community writing center in Seattle, Washington. About Hugo House was founded in 1997 by Linda Jaech, Frances McCue, and Andrea Lewis. These three writers believed Seattle needed a center for local writers and readers ...

, a Seattle-based

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

writing center.

Critical reception

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 ...

'' describes ''Bloomland'' as "Hugely important, hauntingly brutal" and states, "Englehardt has just announced himself as one of America’s most talented emerging writers." Kristen Millares Young 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 ...

'' writes, "“Bloomland” juxtaposes the proximate with the predator, intermingling their perspectives until the flickering becomes a bloody tapestry of our beleaguered nation." In ''

The Literary Review ''The Literary Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1957. The biannual magazine is published internationally by Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. In addition to the publication of short stories, poems, and ...

'', Jeff Bursey states, "writing a relatively non-polemical debut novel about a student who shoots others at his campus would be difficult to do, but John Englehardt, in Bloomland, has achieved this feat." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'' describes the novel as "potent" and states, "Englehardt’s debut poses timely, difficult questions."

Honors and awards

* 2012 A&P Winter Fiction Contest, The Stranger * 2014 Wabash Prize for Fiction, Sycamore Review * 2018 Dzanc Books Prize for Fiction * 2020 VCU Cabell First Novelist Award

Works

* Englehardt, John. (Dec. 5, 2012). "Gingrich". ''The Stranger'' * Englehardt, John. (Dec. 16, 2013). "Kentbrook! Kentbrook! Kentbrook!" ''Monkey Bicycle'' * Englehardt, John. (Jul. 8, 2018) "From the Void I Saw Your Face" ''Vol. 1 Brooklyn''

Personal life

Englehardt married his partner, Katharine Toombs, in March 2017. He currently resides in Seattle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Englehardt, John 1987 births Living people American writers People from Fort Cavazos Seattle University alumni University of Arkansas alumni Writers from Seattle