George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an American writer of short stories, essays, novellas, children's books, and novels. His writing has appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...

'', and '' GQ''. He also contributed a weekly column, "American Psyche", to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'''s weekend magazine between 2006 and 2008. A professor at

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

, Saunders won the

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

for fiction in 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2004, and second prize in the O. Henry Awards in 1997. His first story collection, ''CivilWarLand in Bad Decline'', was a finalist for the 1996 PEN/Hemingway Award. In 2006, Saunders received a

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and colloquially called the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to typically between 20 and ...

and won the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for his short story "CommComm". His story collection ''In Persuasion Nation'' was a finalist for The Story Prize in 2007. In 2013, he won the PEN/Malamud Award and was a finalist for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

. Saunders's '' Tenth of December: Stories'' won The Story Prize for short-story collections and the inaugural (2014) Folio Prize. His novel '' Lincoln in the Bardo'' won the 2017

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

Early life and education

Saunders was born in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

. He grew up in

Oak Forest, Illinois Oak Forest is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The city is out south-southwest of downtown Chicago in Bremen Township. Per the 2020 census, the population was 27,478. History Human habitation in Oak Forest began during the ...

, near

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, attended St. Damian Catholic School and graduated from Oak Forest High School in Oak Forest, Illinois. He spent some of his early twenties working as a roofer in Chicago, a doorman in Beverly Hills, and a

slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

knuckle-puller. In 1981, he received a B.S. in

geophysical engineering "Geoprofessions" is a term coined by the Geoprofessional Business Association to connote various technical disciplines that involve engineering, earth and environmental services applied to below-ground ("subsurface"), ground-surface, and ground-sur ...

from

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Moun ...

. Of his scientific background, Saunders has said, "any claim I might make to originality in my fiction is really just the result of this odd background: basically, just me working inefficiently, with flawed tools, in a mode I don't have sufficient background to really understand. Like if you put a welder to designing dresses." In 1988, he was awarded an M.F.A. in creative writing from

, where he worked with Tobias Wolff. At Syracuse, he met Paula Redick, a fellow writer, whom he married. Saunders recalled, "we otengaged in three weeks, a Syracuse Creative Writing Program record that, I believe, still stands". Of his influences, Saunders has written:

Career

Background and work

From 1989 to 1996, Saunders worked as a

technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...

and geophysical engineer for Radian International, an

environmental engineering Environmental engineering is a professional engineering Academic discipline, discipline related to environmental science. It encompasses broad Science, scientific topics like chemistry, biology, ecology, geology, hydraulics, hydrology, microbiolo ...

firm in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. He also worked for a time with an oil exploration crew in

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

in the early 1980s. Since 1997, Saunders has been on the faculty of

, teaching

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

in the school's MFA program in addition to writing fiction and nonfiction. In 2006, he was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

and a $500,000

. He was a Visiting Writer at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

and

Hope College Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan, United States. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman coll ...

in 2010 and participated in Wesleyan's Distinguished Writers Series and Hope College's Visiting Writers Series. His nonfiction collection, ''The Braindead Megaphone'', was published in 2007. Saunders's fiction often focuses on the absurdity of

consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...

corporate culture Organizational culture encompasses the shared norms, values, corporate language and behaviors - observed in schools, universities, not-for-profit groups, government agencies, and businesses - reflecting their core values and strategic direction. ...

, and the role of

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

. While multiple reviewers have noted his writing's

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

tone, his work also raises moral and philosophical questions. The tragicomic element in his writing has earned Saunders comparisons to

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut ( ; November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American author known for his Satire, satirical and darkly humorous novels. His published work includes fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and five nonfict ...

, whose work has inspired him.

Ben Stiller Benjamin Edward Meara Stiller (born November 30, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known for his blend of slapstick humor and sharp wit, Stiller rose to fame through comedies such as ''There's Something About Mary'' (1998), ' ...

bought the

film rights Film rights are rights under copyright law to produce a film as a derivative work of a given item of intellectual property. In US law, these rights belong to the holder of the copyright, who may sell (or " option") them to someone in the film indus ...

to '' CivilWarLand in Bad Decline'' in the late 1990s; , the project was in development by Stiller's company, Red Hour Productions. Saunders has also written a feature-length

screenplay A screenplay, or script, is a written work produced for a film, television show (also known as a '' teleplay''), or video game by screenwriters (cf. ''stage play''). Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of w ...

based on his short story "Sea Oak". Saunders considered himself an Objectivist in his twenties but now views the philosophy unfavorably, likening it to

neoconservatism Neoconservatism (colloquially neocon) is a political movement which began in the United States during the 1960s among liberal hawks who became disenchanted with the increasingly pacifist Democratic Party along with the growing New Left and ...

. He is a student of

Nyingma Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...

Buddhism.

Awards

Saunders has won the

for Fiction four times: in 1994, for "The 400-Pound CEO" (published in ''

''); in 1996, for "Bounty" (also published in ''Harper's''); in 2000, for "The Barber's Unhappiness" (published in ''

''); and in 2004, for "The Red Bow" (published in ''

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 gentleman ...

''). Saunders won second prize in the 1997 O. Henry Awards for his short story "The Falls", initially published in the January 22, 1996, issue of ''

''. His first short-story collection, ''CivilWarLand in Bad Decline'', was a finalist for the 1996 PEN/Hemingway Award. In 2001, Saunders received a Lannan Literary Fellowship in Fiction from the Lannan Foundation. In 2006, Saunders was awarded a

. Also that year, he received a

; his short-story collection '' In Persuasion Nation'' was a finalist for The Story Prize; and he won the World Fantasy Award—Short Fiction for his short story "CommComm", first published in the August 1, 2005, issue of ''

''. In 2009, Saunders received an award from the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. In 2014, he was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

. In 2013, Saunders won the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. His short-story collection '' Tenth of December'' won the 2013

Story Prize The Story Prize is an annual book award established in 2004 that honors the author of an outstanding collection of short fiction with a $20,000 cash award. Each of two runners-up receives $5,000. Eligible books must be written in English and first ...

. The collection also won the inaugural Folio Prize in 2014, "the first major English-language book prize open to writers from around the world". The collection was also a finalist for the

and was named one of the "10 Best Books of 2013" by the editors of ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

''. In a January 2013 cover story, ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'' called ''Tenth of December'' "the best book you'll read this year". One of the stories in the collection, "Home", was a 2011

Bram Stoker Award The Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented annually by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in dark fantasy and horror writing. History The Awards were established in 1987 and have been presented annually since ...

finalist. In 2017, Saunders published his first novel, '' Lincoln in the Bardo'', which won the

and was a ''New York Times ''bestseller.

Awards and honors

Other honors

* Lannan Foundation – Lannan Literary Fellowship, 2001 *

, 2006 *

, Academy Award, 2009 * PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story, 2013 * ''

s "10 Best Books of 2013", '' Tenth of December: Stories'' *

, Elected as Member, 2014 *

, Inducted as Member, 2018 * The House of Culture (Stockholm) International Literary Prize, 2018

Selected works

Story collections

* '' CivilWarLand in Bad Decline'' (1996) (

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

and a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

) * '' Pastoralia'' (2000) (short stories and a novella) * '' In Persuasion Nation'' (2006) (short stories) * '' Tenth of December: Stories'' (2013) (short stories) * '' Liberation Day: Stories'' (2022) (short stories)

Novels

* '' The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil'' (2005, novella) * ''Fox 8'' (2013, novella) * '' Lincoln in the Bardo'' (2017)

Nonfiction

* *

Children's books

* '' The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip'' (2000)

Essays and reporting

* * * * Online version is titled "Who are all these Trump supporters?".

Anthologies

* ''Fakes: An Anthology of Pseudo-Interviews, Faux-Lectures, Quasi-Letters, "Found" Texts, and Other Fraudulent Artifacts'', edited by David Shields and Matthew Vollmer (2012) * ''Cappelens Forslags Conversational Lexicon Volume II'', edited by Pil Cappelen Smith, published by Cappelens Forslag (2016) ISBN 978-82-999643-4-0

Interviews

*
Choose Your Own Adventure: A Conversation With Jennifer Egan and George Saunders
. ''New York Times Magazine'', November 2015. *
A Conversation with George Saunders
. ''Image Journal'', 2016. *
George Saunders: The Art of Fiction No. 245
. ''The Paris Review'', issue 231 (Winter 2019). *
An Interview with George Saunders
. ''Believer Magazine'', January 2021. *
George Saunders on ''A Swim in a Pond in the Rain.''
''Mayday'', March 2021.

Stories

Notes

References

External links

*

Joel Lovell, ''

'', January 3, 2013
10 Free Stories by George Saunders Available on the Web

"Adjust Your Vision: Tolstoy's Last and Darkest Novel"
George Saunders, NPR, January 6, 2013
"Radio Interview with George Saunders"
on ''Read First, Ask Later'' (Ep. 27 – Season Finale) 2014 - college radio book talk show - Lehigh Carbon Community College
"George Saunders: On Story"
by Sarah Klein & Tom Mason
Redglass Pictures
''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', December 8, 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, George 1958 births 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male essayists American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male short story writers American postmodern writers American speculative fiction writers Booker Prize winners Colorado School of Mines alumni Former Objectivists Granta people Living people MacArthur Fellows Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters Nyingma Buddhists PEN/Malamud Award winners People from Amarillo, Texas Syracuse University alumni Syracuse University faculty The New Yorker people Wesleyan University faculty World Fantasy Award–winning writers Writers from Chicago Writers from Texas