Todd James Pierce (born September 15, 1965) is an American novelist and short story writer.
Life
Todd James Pierce is primarily known as a novelist and short story writer. He is a graduate of the MFA program at UC Irvine and the Ph.D. program at
Florida State University
Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...
. As the winner of the 2006
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
The Drue Heinz Literature Prize is a major American literary award for short fiction in the English language.
This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated in 1981 by Drue Heinz and dev ...
Iowa Review
''The Iowa Review'' is an American literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, essays, and reviews.
History and profile
Founded in 1970, ''Iowa Review'' is issued three times a year, during the months of April, August, and December. Origin ...
'', ''
Mid-American Review
''Mid-American Review'' (''MAR'') is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, ''MAR'' is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Ar ...
Northwest Review
The University of Oregon has a diverse array of student-run and non-student-run media outlets.
Newspapers
''Daily Emerald''
The ''Daily Emerald'', published Monday through Friday, primarily features news items and commentary pertaining to the U ...
Puerto del Sol
''Puerto del Sol'' is a non-profit literary magazine run by faculty and graduate students from the MFA program in Creative Writing The New York Times'' described his collection, ''Newsworld'', as adroitly examining the intersection between mass media and private life: "While Pierce's comedic realism unfolds in the background, his heroes ache in their offices and bedrooms--so desperate to communicate through press releases and letters to the editor that they've forgotten how to whisper into a lover's ear."
Currently he is revising a 600-page narrative nonfiction book that tells the story of the men and women who built the first wave of American theme parks in the 1950s, as well as editing two new anthologies of short fiction: ''Dead Neon'' (a collection of post-apocalyptic fiction due out from the University of Nevada Press late in 2010) and ''Contemporary American Short Shorts'' (a collection of extremely short stories due out from MacAdam/Cage early in 2011).
He lives in Santa Barbara County and teaches creative writing at
California Polytechnic State University
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (California Polytechnic State University, Cal Poly"Cal Poly" may also refer to California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt in Arcata, California or California State Polytechnic Univ ...
.
Awards
* 2006
Drue Heinz Literature Prize
The Drue Heinz Literature Prize is a major American literary award for short fiction in the English language.
This prize of the University of Pittsburgh Press in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States was initiated in 1981 by Drue Heinz and dev ...
for his book, ''Newsworld'', which was selected by Joan Didion.
* The Charles Angoff Award (from The Literary Review)
* Kingsbury Fellowship