Pamela Erens is an American writer who appeared on a list compiled by the ''

Reader's Digest ''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...

'' of "23 Contemporary Writers You Should Have Read by Now". She has written three critically acclaimed novels for adults, a highly praised novel for middle schoolers, and the memoir/critical hybrid ''Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life.'' Her debut novel, '' The Understory'' (2007), was a fiction finalist for the

William Saroyan International Prize for Writing The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing is a biennial literary award for fiction and nonfiction in the spirit of William Saroyan by emerging writers. It was established by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation ...

and the

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ( ...

,. Erens's second novel, ''

The Virgins The Virgins were an American indie rock band formed in 2006 in New York City. The band split up in November 2013. History 2006–2007: Formation Frontman Donald Cumming began writing music by himself in his New York apartment. He then recruited ...

'' (2013), received accolades from many sources including ''

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 ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' and '' Vanity Fair''. It was a finalist for the John Gardner Fiction Book Award. Her third novel, ''Eleven Hours,'' was published in May 2016. It was named a Best Book of 2016 by ''The New Yorker'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, and ''Kirkus''. Erens's middle grade novel, ''Matasha'', was published in June 2021. Erens has also written essays and critical articles for publications such as ''The New York Times, Vogue, Elle, Virginia Quarterly Review,'' and ''Los Angeles Review of Books.''

Biography

Pamela Erens was brought up in Chicago. Her mother Patricia lectured on film at

Rosary College Dominican University (DU) is a private Roman Catholic university in River Forest, Illinois, affiliated with the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters. It offers bachelor's and master's degrees, certificate programs, and a PhD in information studies. Do ...

and her father was an attorney.''The Chicago Tribune'', June 25, 1978, page 121
Retrieved 2015-07-23. Erens was educated at the

Latin School of Chicago Latin School of Chicago is a selective private elementary, middle, and high school located in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery. Latin S ...

, and had a novel published at the age of 14 entitled ''Fight for Freedom: A Slave Girl's Escape''; it was written when she was 10. It concerned the escape to the North of an Arkansas slave girl, accompanied by

Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross, March 10, 1913) was an American abolitionist and social activist. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and subsequently made some 13 missions to rescue approximately 70 slaves, including family and friends, us ...

.The Smoking Poet Interviews Pamela Erens
Retrieved 2015-07-23. She went on to study at

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

and

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. Erens has been a fellow at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference and the

Sewanee Writers' Conference The Sewanee Writers' Conference is a writers' conference held every summer on the campus of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. The conference was started in 1989 by founding director Wyatt Prunty and the current director is Leah ...

. For many years she was an editor at '' Glamour'' magazine. She lives in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

.Maplewood Literary Award — PAMELA ERENS
Retrieved 2016-10-31.

References

External links

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Pamela Erens in conversation with Elizabeth TrundlePamela Erens with Jonathan Dee
(YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Erens, Pamela Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century American women writers Novelists from New Jersey Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Yale University alumni Latin School of Chicago alumni People from Maplewood, New Jersey Writers from Chicago American magazine editors Jewish American writers 21st-century American novelists American women essayists 21st-century American essayists Novelists from Illinois Women magazine editors 21st-century American Jews