Mary Helen Stefaniak is an American writer. She comes from the family of

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

from

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, that originates from Novo Selo (

Tótújfalu Tótújfalu ( hr, Novo Selo) is a village in Somogy county, Hungary. Geography It lies in the southern part of Somogy County, southeast of Barcs, next to the Drava River and the Croatian border. Neighboring settlements are Lakócsa, Szentborbá ...

) in Hungary, being thus a part of the indigenous Croatian minority in that country. She is the author of the books ''Self Storage and Other Stories,'' ''The Turk and My Mother,'' and ''The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia.'' Her collection of short stories ''Self Storage and Other Stories,'' received the Banta Award from the

Wisconsin Library Association The Wisconsin Library Association (WLA), is a Wisconsin, United States non-profit, professional membership organization which has existed since 1891. WLA represents nearly 2000 members statewide --- primarily librarians and library staff from scho ...

for the best book (fiction or non-fiction) published by a

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

author in 1997. She is also the winner of the

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university with campuses in Binghamton, New York, Binghamton, Vestal, New York, Vestal, and Johnson City, New Yor ...

John Gardner Fiction Book Award for her first novel, ''The Turk and My Mother'', which has been translated into several languages. Stefaniak has been featured twice in the anthology ''

New Stories from the South ''New Stories from the South'' is an annual compilation of short stories published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill between 1986 and 2010 and billed as the year's best stories written by Southern writers or about the Southern United States. The s ...

'': The Year's Best, (2000 and 2006). In September 2010, independent publishers rated her novel ''The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia'' as an Indie-Next "Great Read". She teaches

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

Creighton University Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and undergra ...

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

and is a faculty mentor at

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wood ...

Forest Grove, Oregon Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a commuter town in the Portland metro area. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850, then incorpora ...

. She and her husband live in

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. They have a son, Jeff, and two daughters, Liz and Lauren. In 2011, she won the

Anisfield-Wolf Book Award The Anisfield-Wolf Book Award is an American literary award dedicated to honoring written works that make important contributions to the understanding of racism and the appreciation of the rich diversity of human culture. Established in 1935 by Clev ...

for ''The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia.'' Anisfield-Wolf awards "recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation for the rich diversity of human cultures."Anisfield-Wolf Book Award Winners
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References

External links

Official Website

''The Turk and My Mother" at Norton Books'

"The Cailiffs of Baghdad, Georgia" at Norton Books
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stefaniak, Mary Helen Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American academics of English literature American people of Croatian descent Hungarian emigrants to the United States Croats of Hungary American women non-fiction writers