Steve Yarbrough (born August 29, 1956) is an American author and academic, who teaches at Emerson College.

Life

Born in Indianola, Mississippi, he received his B.A. and M.A. in English from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

and his M.F.A. in creative writing from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

. Writing largely within the Southern tradition, he draws his themes and characters from Southern history and mores in ways that have been compared to

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William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on Lafayette County, Mississippi, where Faulkner spent most o ...

, and

Willie Morris William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1935 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' tradem ...

. Yarbrough's major works include the novels ''The Realm of Last Chances'' (2013), ''Safe From The Neighbors'' (2010), ''The End of California'' (2006), ''Prisoners of War'' (2004), ''Visible Spirits'' (2001) and ''The Oxygen Man'' (1999), as well as short story collections such as ''Family Men'' (1990), ''Mississippi History'' (1994) and ''Veneer'' (1998). ''The Realm of Last Chances'', his first novel set in New England, was published by Knopf 2013. It won the 2014 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Fiction. He is also the author of ''Bookmarked: Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show'' (2017), a nonfiction book describing Yarbrough's own journey to adulthood and becoming an author as it relates the titular novel's protagonist. Yarbrough's latest novel, ''The Unmade World'', was published by Unbridled Books in 2018. It won the 2019 Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction. His other honors include the Mississippi Authors Award, the California Book Award, and the 2000 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Fiction. The short story "The Rest of Her Life" appeared in The Best American Short Stories 1999. His novel, ''Prisoners of War'', was a finalist for the 2005 PEN/Faulkner award.Noted b
USA Today
/ref> He has also won the 2010 Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence. His work has been translated into Dutch, Japanese and Polish and published in the United Kingdom. A professor of creative writing for many years at

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

, Yarbrough is currently a professor in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing at Emerson College in Boston.

Family

He is married to the Polish essayist and literary translator Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough and they have two daughters, Antonina Parris-Yarbrough and Lena Yarbrough. He divides his time between Stoneham, Massachusetts, and Kraków.

Bibliography

*''The Unmade World'', (2018), , *''The Realm of Last Chances'' (2013), , * ''Safe From The Neighbors'' (2010), , * ''The End of California'' (2006), * ''Prisoners of War'' (2004), * ''Visible Spirits'' (2001) , * ''The Oxygen Man'' (1999), ; Short story collections * ''Family Men'' (1990), , * ''Mississippi History'' (1994) * ''Veneer'' (1998). , ; Non-fiction * ''Bookmarked: Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show'' (2017), ,

References

1956 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists People from Indianola, Mississippi PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Mississippi 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers American male short story writers University of Mississippi alumni University of Arkansas alumni California State University, Fresno faculty Emerson College faculty {{US-novelist-1950s-stub