Lily King (born 1963) is an American novelist.
Early life
King grew up in Massachusetts. She earned a B.A. in English literature from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United State ...
and an M.A. in creative writing from
Syracuse University.
Work
King's first novel, ''The Pleasing Hour'' (1999), won the Barnes and Noble Discover Award and was a ''New York Times'' Notable Book and an alternate for the
PEN/Hemingway Award. Her second, ''The English Teacher'', was a ''Publishers Weekly'' Top Ten Book of the Year, a ''Chicago Tribune'' Best Book of the Year, and the winner of the Maine Fiction Award. Her third novel, ''Father of the Rain'' (2010), was a ''New York Times'' Editors Choice, a ''Publishers Weekly'' Best Novel of the Year, and winner of the New England Book Award for Fiction and the Maine Fiction Award.
King's fourth novel, ''Euphoria'' (2014), was inspired by events in the life of anthropologist
Margaret Mead
Margaret Mead (December 16, 1901 – November 15, 1978) was an American cultural anthropologist who featured frequently as an author and speaker in the mass media during the 1960s and the 1970s.
She earned her bachelor's degree at Barnard C ...
.
It won the inaugural
Kirkus Prize for Fiction and the 2014 New England Book Award for Fiction,
and was a finalist for the 2014
National Book Critics Circle Award.
''Euphoria'' was listed among ''
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 ...
'' Book Review's 10 Best Books of 2014,
TIME's Top 10 Fiction Books of 2014,
and the Amazon Best Books of 2014.
King is the recipient of a MacDowell Fellowship and a Whiting Award. Her short fiction has appeared in literary magazines, including ''Ploughshares'' and ''Glimmer Train'', as well as in anthologies. King's first collection of stories, "Five Tuesdays in Winter," was published in 2021.
Awards
* 2021
Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first p ...
finalist for ''Five Tuesdays In Winter''
* 2014
National Book Critics Circle Award finalist for ''Euphoria''
* 2014 New England Book Award for Fiction winner for ''Euphoria''
* 2010 Maine Fiction Award for “Father of the Rain”
* 2010 New England Book Award for “Father of the Rain”
* 2005 Maine Fiction Award for “The English Teacher”
* 2000
Whiting Award
The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry
Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and ...
* 1999 Barnes and Noble Discover Award for “The Pleasing Hour”
* 1995 MacDowell Fellowship
Works
*
*
* ''Father of the Rain: A Novel'', Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2010
* ''Euphoria'', Atlantic Monthly Press, 2014
* ''
Writers & Lovers'', Grove Press, 2020
* ''Five Tuesdays in Winter'', Grove Press, 2021
References
External links
Official websiteProfile at The Whiting Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Lily
1963 births
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American women writers
American women novelists
Kirkus Prize winners
Living people
Syracuse University alumni
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni