Simon Van Booy (born 1975) is an Anglo-American writer, currently living in the United States. His short story collection, ''Love Begins in Winter'', won the 2009

Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award __NOTOC__ The Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award—named in honour of Frank O'Connor, who devoted much of his work to the form—was an international literary award presented for the best short story collection. It was presented betwe ...

Fiction

Simon Van Booy has written three collections of short stories. His first collection, ''The Secret Lives of People in Love'', was shortlisted for the 2011 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, while his second collection, ''Love Begins in Winter'', won the

. His third collection, ''Tales of Accidental Genius'', was released in 2015. Van Booy's first novel, ''Everything Beautiful Began After'', was released in 2011, and was nominated for the 2012 Indies Choice Book Award for Fiction, while his second novel, ''The Illusion of Separateness'', was released in 2013. He released a third novel titled ''Father's Day'' in 2016. Van Booy's fourth novel, ''Night Came with Many Stars'', was released in 2021. NPR Books review Jason Sheehan called it Van Booy's best novel to date, writing “It is a heartbreaking book, a gorgeous book . . . In ''Night'', Van Booy finds the weakness, grace and beauty of common lives fully lived.” ''Boston Globe'' columnist Joan Frank wrote “Kindness and raw luck undergird ''Night Came with Many Stars''… And like Dickens’s young heroes, Van Booy’s determined souls act with their whole hearts—as does this brave, fierce novel—to earn what good may come.” ''USA Today'' named ''Night Came with Many Stars'' to a list of “5 Books Not to Miss.” In 2010, Van Booy released his first children's book, ''Pobble's Way'', to be followed by ''Gertie Milk and the Keeper of Lost Things'' in 2017.

Other works

Van Booy is the editor of three volumes of philosophy, entitled ''Why We Fight'', ''Why We Need Love'', and ''Why Our Decisions Don't Matter''. Van Booy's essays have been published in newspapers internationally, 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 d ...

'', ''

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'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', and ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

''. They have also been broadcast on National Public Radio. In 2011, Van Booy delivered his first full-length stage comedy, and wrote an award-winning short film for the

Morgans Hotel Group Morgans Hotel Group (NASDAQ: $MHG) was a global, publicly-traded hotel company founded by Ian Schrager, inventors of the boutique hotel category with the 1984 opening of Morgans Hotel in New York City. MHG was listed on the NASDAQ exchange for o ...

called ''Love Is Like Life But Longer''.

Teaching and lecturing

Van Booy lectures frequently at schools, universities, and libraries in the United States, the United Kingdom, and in China. He teaches part-time at the School of Visual Arts in New York City, and at Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus. He is an advocate of education as a means of social reform, and involved in the Rutgers University Early College Humanities program (REaCH) for young adults living in under-served communities.

Design

Since 2009, Partners & Spade have carried Van Booy's "custom vintage Antarctic explorers' skis," and cold-weather hats, which he designed to support research in Antarctic regions and raise awareness for the Scott Polar Research Institute at

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

In translation

Van Booy's fiction and essays have been translated into over eighteen languages throughout the world. In 2011 he embarked on a multiple city reading tour of China, where his books are available in two different

varieties of Chinese Chinese, also known as Sinitic, is a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family consisting of hundreds of local varieties, many of which are not mutually intelligible. Variation is particularly strong in the more mountainous southeast of ma ...

Criticism

His short story collections received positive reviews from ''

'' and the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' ''Publishers Weekly'' gave ''The Illusion of Separateness'' a starred review, and said "the writing is what makes this remarkable book soar". ''Booklist'', the publication of the American Library Association, praised Van Booy's fourth novel, ''Night Came with Many Stars'', writing “A beautifully realized, multigenerational family novel that is exceptional for its memorable, fully developed characters. Readers will become emotionally invested…invited to consider the meaning of family and the power of memory.”

Personal life

Van Booy grew up in

Ruthin Ruthin ( ; cy, Rhuthun) is a market town and community in Denbighshire, Wales, in the south of the Vale of Clwyd. It is Denbighshire's county town. The town, castle and St Peter's Square lie on a hill, skirted by villages such as Pwllglas and ...

and

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, and currently resides in New York. He has one daughter, and married Christina Daigneault in 2013.

List of works

* 2002: ''Love & The Five Senses'' won the H.R. Hays Poetry Prize * 2007: ''The Secret Lives of People in Love'' * 2009: ''Love Begins in Winter'' won the

* 2010: ''Pobble's Way'' won Society of School Librarians International Honor Book Award * 2011: ''Why We Need Love'' * 2011: ''Why Our Decisions Don't Matter'' * 2011: ''Why We Fight'' * 2011: ''Everything Beautiful Began After'' * 2012: ''The Illusion of Separateness'' * 2015: ''Tales of Accidental Genius: Stories'' * 2016: ''Father’s Day'' * 2017: ''Gertie Milk & the Keeper of Lost Things'' * 2018: ''Gertie Milk & the Great Keeper Rescue'' * 2018: ''The Sadness of Beautiful Things'' *2021: ''Night Came with Many Stars''

References

29.

External links

*
''The Secret Lives of People in Love''

''Love Begins in Winter''

''Why We Need Love''

''Why We Fight''

''Why Our Decisions Don't Matter''

''Gertie Milk & the Keeper of Lost Things''

''Gertie Milk & the Great Keeper Rescue''

''The Sadness of Beautiful Things''
*
Night Came with Many Stars
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Booy, Simon 1975 births Living people British short story writers Place of birth missing (living people) 21st-century British novelists 21st-century American writers 21st-century British short story writers Southampton College alumni