Tara Ison (born 1964) is an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She is the author of three novels: ''Rockaway'' ( Soft Skull Press, 2013), ''The List'' (

Scribner Scribner may refer to: Media * Charles Scribner's Sons, also known as Scribner or Scribner's, New York City publisher * ''Scribner's Magazine'', pictorial published from 1887–1939 by Charles Scribner's Sons, then merged with the ''Commentator ...

, 2007), and ''A Child out of Alcatraz'' ( Faber & Faber, 1997), which was a Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A collection of essays, ''Reeling Through Life: How I Learned To Live, Love & Die at the Movies'', was published by Soft Skull Press in January 2015, and was the winner of the 2015 PEN Southwest Award for Creative Nonfiction. Her short story collection, ''Ball'', was published by Soft Skull Press in Fall 2015. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 2020 in support of a short story collection tentatively titled "The Meat Bee," after her 2018 story published in ''Tin House''.

Work

Ison received her MFA in Fiction & Literature from Bennington College, where she was a student of Rick Moody. Institutions she has taught creative writing and screenwriting at include Washington University in St. Louis, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Goddard College and Antioch University Los Angeles. In addition, she has taught UC Riverside Palm Desert's MFA in Creative Writing program. Presently, she is a Professor of English at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

. Work by Ison has appeared in '' Tin House'',

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

, O, The Oprah Magazine, Electric Literature, '' The Kenyon Review'', '' The Rumpus'', ''

Nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons) in the peripheral nervous system. A nerve transmits electrical impulses. It is the basic unit of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the e ...

'', ''

Black Clock ''Black Clock'' was an American literary magazine that published twenty-one issues over twelve years. Edited by Steve Erickson, the magazine was "dedicated to fiction, poetry and creative essays that explore the frontier of constructive anarchy.. ...

'', '' TriQuarterly'', ''The

Santa Monica Review Santa Monica College (SMC) is a public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

'', ''PMS: poemmemoirstory'', '' Publishers Weekly'', '' The Week'', ''The

Mississippi Review The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

'', ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'', the '' Los Angeles Times'', the '' San Francisco Chronicle'', the '' Chicago Tribune'', the '' San Jose Mercury News'', and numerous anthologies. She is also the co-writer, with

Neil Landau Neil Landau is an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and director. His film and television credits include the teen comedy ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'', ''Melrose Place'', ''The Magnificent Seven'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''T ...

, of the 1991 cult classic movie '' Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead''. The pair had originally written the script in 1987.

Awards and honors

Ison is the recipient of National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships in 2020 and 2008, and a 2008 COLA Individual Artist Grant, as well as multiple Yaddo fellowships, a Rotary Foundation Scholarship for International Study, a Brandeis National Women's Committee Award, a Thurber House Fiction Writer-in-Residence Fellowship, the Simon Blattner Fellowship from Northwestern University, and a California Arts Council Artists' Fellowship Award.

Books

* ''Ball: Stories'' * ''Reeling Through Life: How I Learned to Live, Love, and Die at the Movies Winner, 2015 PEN Southwest Award for Creative Nonfiction * ''A Child out of Alcatraz'' * ''The List'' * ''Rockaway''

Screenwriting

Television

* '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'' (1990) * '' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective'' (1996)

Film

* '' Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead'' (1991)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ison, Tara 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American women short story writers Living people Bennington College alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Northwestern University faculty Ohio State University faculty Goddard College faculty Antioch University faculty University of California, Riverside faculty Arizona State University faculty American women essayists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American essayists Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Ohio Novelists from Missouri Novelists from Arizona Novelists from Vermont 1964 births