Joe Meno (born 1974) is an American

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 asp ...

, writer of

short fiction 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 ...

, playwright, and music journalist based in

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

Biography

After attending Columbia College Chicago, Meno spent time working as a flower delivery truck driver and art therapy teacher at a juvenile detention center. His first novel ''Tender as Hellfire'' was published when he was only 24 and received strong reviews from sources like Library Journal. His short fiction has appeared in literary magazines like ''

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books, both operating under the aegis of Northwestern University Press. The journal is published twice a year and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, liter ...

'', '' Ninth Letter'', '' Joyland: A hub for short fiction'', and ''Other Voices''. He currently teaches fiction writing at Columbia College Chicago. He is a frequent contributor to ''Punk Planet'' magazine, where his comic strip ''Iceberg Town'' is featured.

Selected bibliography

*''

Tender as Hellfire ''Tender as Hellfire'' is a debut novel by Chicago author Joe Meno. Released by Punk Planet ''Punk Planet'' was a 16,000 print run punk zine, based in Chicago, Illinois, that focused most of its energy on looking at punk subculture rather than p ...

''.

Akashic Books Akashic Books is a Brooklyn-based independent publisher. Akashic Books' collection began with Arthur Nersesian's ''The Fuck Up'' in 1997, and has since expanded to include Dennis Cooper's "Little House on the Bowery" series, Chris Abani's Blac ...

, 2007/St. Martin's Press, 1999. *'' How the Hula Girl Sings''. Akashic Books, 2005/ReganBooks, 2001. *'' Hairstyles of the Damned''. Akashic Books, 2004. *'' Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir: Stories''. Northwestern University Press, 2005. *'' The Boy Detective Fails''. Akashic Books, 2006. *'' Demons in the Spring''. Akashic Books, 2008. *'' The Great Perhaps''. W. W. Norton, 2009. *''Office Girl''. Akashic Books, 2012. *''Marvel and a Wonder''. Akashic Books, 2015.

Plays

*''The Boy Detective Fails.'' *''Once Upon a Time or the Secret Language of Birds.'' *''Star Witness.''

Musicals

*''The Boy Detective Fails.''

Awards

Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham; March 28, 1909 – May 9, 1981) was an American writer. His 1949 novel ''The Man with the Golden Arm'' won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. Algren articulated ...

Award, 2003 a prize for short fiction given by the

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 a ...

. '' Hairstyles of the Damned'' was selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program for its November 2004 – January 2005 season. ''Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir'' was selected as the winner of the Society of Midland Author's Award for Fiction 2005. ''Demons in the Spring'' was a finalist for The Story Prize in 2009. ''The Great Perhaps'' was a winner of the Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction in 2009 and a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice.

References

Sources

*Gale Online Literature Resource Center. Updated June, 2003.

External links

JoeMeno.com
* Video
A message from Joe Meno about ''The Great Perhaps''

on Akashic Books Online
Interview
on Bookslut.com
Fogged Clarity's Interview with Joe Meno (June, 2009)

* 1974 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists Columbia College Chicago faculty Writers from Chicago American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois {{US-novelist-1970s-stub