Morgan Talty (

Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...

) is a writer and an assistant professor of English in Creative Writing and Native American and Contemporary Literature at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

in Orono.

Early life and education

Morgan Talty was born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the List of cities by population in New England, fifth-most populous ...

, and lived there until he was six. He and his mother moved to the Penobscot Indian Nation in Maine, where he lived until the age of eighteen. He started studying creative writing in community college. Talty graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

and the

Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing The Stonecoast MFA Program in Creative Writing is a graduate program in creative writing based at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, Maine, United States. Stonecoast enrolls approximately 100 students in four major genres: creative non ...

Career

He teaches at Stonecoast and at the

. His work has appeared in '' Narrative Magazine'', '' Granta, RED INK'' and '' The Georgia Review''.

''Night of the Living Rez'' (2022)

Talty's first book, ''Night of the Living Rez'', was published July 5, 2022 by

Tin House Books ''Tin House'' is an American book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer of 1998. He enlisted Holly MacArt ...

. The book received starred reviews from '' Booklist'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. ''Publishers Weekly'' named it one of the top ten works of fiction published in 2022. Further, ''Night of the Living Rez'' won the New England Book Award for Fiction and was a runner-up for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. It's also a finalist for

The 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 ...

. It won the 2023

John Leonard Prize The John Leonard Prize for Best First Book, established in 2013, is an annual literary award presented by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) for authors' first books in any genre. Unlike other NBCC awards, recipients are selected by members, n ...

, awarded by the National Book Critics Circle for a first book in any genre, and was shortlisted the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Publications

Books

* ''Night of the Living Rez'',

(July 2022) * ''Fire Exit'',

(June 2024)

Short Stories

* "The Prepper" in '' Never Whistle At Night: An Indigenous Dark Fiction Anthology'' (September 2023)

Awards

* 2021 Narrative Prize * 2022

* 2022 New England Book Award for Fiction * 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction shortlisted * 2023 Barnes & Noble Discover Prize shortlisted * 2023 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize.

Personal life

Talty is married and has one son named Charlie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talty, Morgan Penobscot people 21st-century American novelists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American male novelists Dartmouth College alumni University of Southern Maine alumni University of Southern Maine faculty University of Maine faculty National Book Critics Circle Award-winning works Native American writers Native American novelists