Pinckney Benedict (born 1964) is an American short-story writer and novelist whose work often reflects his

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, Ca ...

n background.

Biography

Benedict was raised in

Greenbrier County, West Virginia Greenbrier County () is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. Its county seat is Lewisburg. The county was formed in 1778 from Botetourt and Montgomery counties in Virginia. History P ...

, where his family had a dairy farm. He attended

The Hill School The Hill School (commonly known as The Hill) is a coeducational preparatory boarding school located on a campus in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, about northwest of Philadelphia. The Hill is part of the Ten Schools Admissions Organization (TSAO). ...

Pottstown, Pennsylvania Pottstown is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Pottstown was laid out in 1752–53 and named Pottsgrove in honor of its founder, John Potts. The old name was abandoned at the time of the incorporation as a borough in 1815. In 1888 ...

, and graduated from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where he studied primarily with

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. Her novels '' Bla ...

, in 1986, and from the

Iowa Writers’ Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wr ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 1988. He has published three collections of short fiction (''Town Smokes'', ''The Wrecking Yard'', and ''Miracle Boy'') and a novel (''Dogs of God''). His stories have appeared in publications including ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', '' Zoetrope: All-Story'', ''

StoryQuarterly ''StoryQuarterly'' is an American literary journal based at Rutgers University–Camden in Camden, New Jersey. It was founded in 1975 by Tom Bracken, F.R. Katz, Pamela Painter and Thalia Selz. Works originally published in ''StoryQuarterly'' ha ...

'', ''Ontario Review'', ''

Appalachian Heritage ''Appalachian Review'', formerly known as ''Appalachian Heritage'', is a literary quarterly that "showcases the work of emerging and established writers throughout Appalachia and beyond." Notable writers who have contributed to ''Appalachian Revi ...

'', the

O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

series, the ''

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 ...

'' series and the

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

series. Along with his wife, the novelist Laura Benedict (''Isabella Moon'', and ''Calling Mr. Lonelyhearts''), he edits the biennial ''Surreal South'' fiction anthology series (Press 53). The third volume of the series, ''Surreal South '11'', was published in October 2011. He wrote the screenplay for the feature film ''Four Days'', which starred

Colm Meaney Colm J. Meaney (; ga, Colm Ó Maonaigh; born 30 May 1953) is an Irish actor known for playing Miles O'Brien in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987–1994) and '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He has guest-starred on many T ...

Lolita Davidovich Lolita Davidovich ( sr-Latn, Lolita Davidović, italic=unset; born July 15, 1961) is a Canadian-born film and television actress, best known for portraying Blaze Starr in the 1989 film '' Blaze'', for which she received a Chicago Film Critics Ass ...

, and William Forsythe. He serves on the core faculty of the low-residency MFA program at

Queens University of Charlotte The Queens University of Charlotte is a private university in Charlotte, North Carolina. It has approximately 2,300 undergraduate and graduate students through the College of Arts and Sciences, the McColl School of Business, the Wayland H. Cato, ...

in North Carolina. He has served on the writing faculties of

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

, Princeton University, and

Hollins University Hollins University is a private university in Hollins, Virginia. Founded in 1842 as Valley Union Seminary in the historical settlement of Botetourt Springs, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher education for women in the United States ...

, as a McGhee Writing Fellow at

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

in Davidson, North Carolina, and as a Thurber House Fellow at the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

. He is currently full professor in the English Department at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 s ...

Published works

* ''Town Smokes'' (short stories), 1987 * ''The Wrecking Yard'' (short stories), 1992 * ''Dogs of God'' (novel), 1995 * ''Surreal South'' (edited anthology, with Laura Benedict), 2007 * ''Surreal South '09'' (edited anthology, with Laura Benedict), 2009 * ''Surreal South '11'' (edited anthology, with Laura Benedict), 2011 * ''Miracle Boy and Other Stories,''

Press 53 Press 53 is an independent publisher located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Known for championing the work of short story writers and poets, who face challenges in the publishing industry, Press 53 was launched in the wake of 9-11 when founde ...

, 2010

Awards

He is the recipient, among other prizes, of a Literature Fellowship from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, a fiction grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a Literary Fellowship from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, a Michener Fellowship from the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wri ...

, 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 ar ...

’s Nelson Algren Award, and Britain's Steinbeck Award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict, Pinckney 1964 births Living people 20th-century American novelists Princeton University alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Queens University of Charlotte faculty People from Lewisburg, West Virginia Novelists from West Virginia The Hill School alumni American male screenwriters Appalachian writers Educators from West Virginia Southern Illinois University Carbondale faculty American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Illinois Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from North Carolina