Nationality: British. Born: Glasgow, 1927. Education: St. Leonard's School, St. Andrews, Scotland; St. Anne's College, Oxford (editor, Cherwell), 1947-50, B.A. in history, M.A. Address: c/o Hutchinson, 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2SA, England. The strength of Elizabeth Mavor's writing is her sensuous evocation of nature, gardens, art, and sex. The quirky interest in t…
Nationality: American. Born: Lincoln, Illinois, 1908. Education: The University of Illinois, Urbana, B.A. 1930; Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, M.A. 1931. Career: Member of the Department of English, University of Illinois, 1931-33. From 1936, in the art department, then fiction editor, New Yorker; retired 1976. Awards: Friends of American Writers award, 1938; American Academy award,…
Nationality: Irish. Born: Clones, County Monaghan, Ireland, 1955. Education: St. Patrick's Training College, Dublin. Career: Since 1980 teacher, Kingsbury Day Special School, London. Awards: Irish Press Hennessy award, 1979, for The Call ; Aer Lingus prize, for The Butcher Boy, 1992. Patrick McCabe's first two novels, Music on Clinton Street and Carn, garnered him little attention o…
Nationality: American. Born: Charles McCarthy, Providence, Rhode Island, 1933. Education: University of Tennessee. Military Service: United States Air Force, 1953-56. Awards: Ingram-Merrill Foundation grant for creative writing, 1960; William Faulkner Foundation award, 1965, for The Orchard Keeper; Rockefeller Foundation grant, 1966; MacArthur Foundation grant, 1981; Jean Stein Award, American Aca…
Nationality: New Zealander. Born: Dannevirre, 1941. Career: copywriter, New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation, Napier, 1959-61; journalist, New Zealand Listener, Wellington, 1961-62, Taranaki Herald, New Plymouth, 1963-64, and Christchurch Press, 1964-65; writer-in-residence, University of Auckland, 1986. Awards: New Zealand Book award, 1983; Mobil award, for radio play, 1982; New Zealand Literary …
Nationality: American. Born: Brooklyn, New York, 1953. Education: State University of New York, B.A. 1975; University of New Hampshire, M.A. 1978. Career: Lecturer in English, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 1978-79; fiction reader for Redbook and Esquire, 1979-80; lecturer in writing, University of California, San Diego. Awards: Whiting Writers award, 1987. Agent: Harriet Wasserman Literary …
Nationality: Australian. Born: Young, New South Wales, Australia, 1941. Education: University of Sydney, B.A. 1962. Career: High school teacher, Murrumburrah and Wellington, Australia, 1963-64; producer, Educational Radio and Television, Brisbane, Australia, 1964-67, Hobart, Australia, 1967-69; editor, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Australia, 1969-76; full-time writer, 1977—. A…
Nationality: American. Born: Brooklyn, New York, 1930. Education: Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, 1947-51, B.A. 1951; Columbia University, New York, 1951-52, 1954-56, M.A. 1952, Ph.D. in English 1961. Military Service: Served in the United States Coast Guard 1952-54. Career: Instructor and assistant professor of English, University of New Hampshire, Durham, 1956-62. Since 1964 profe…
Nationality: British. Born: Aldershot, Hampshire, 1948. Education: Woolverstone Hall School; University of Sussex, Brighton, B.A. (honours) in English 1970; University of East Anglia, Norwich, M.A. in English 1971. Awards: Maugham award, 1976; Evening Standard award, for screenplay, 1983; Booker prize, 1998. D. Litt.: University of Sussex, 1989; University of East Anglia, 1993. Fellow, Royal Socie…
Nationality: Irish. Born: Leitrim, 1934. Education: Presentation College, Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim; St. Patrick's Training College, Dublin; University College, Dublin. Career: Primary school teacher, St. John the Baptist Boys School, Clontarf, 1956-64; research fellow, University of Reading, Berkshire, 1968-71; Visiting O'Connor Professor of Literature, Colgate University, …
Nationality: British. Born: London in 1950. Education: The University of London, B.A. in English. Career: Orderly, Ontario State Mental Hospital, Oakridge, from 1971, then teacher in Vancouver. Agent: Jane Gregory Agency, Riverside Studios, Crisp Road, London NW6 9RL, England. The grotesque and macabre dominate Patrick McGrath's work, as his writing seeks to explore the dimensions of the bi…
Nationality: American. Born: Wyandotte, Michigan, 1939. Education: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Olivet College, Michigan; Michigan State University, East Lansing, 1958-62, B.A. 1962; Yale University School of Drama, New Haven, Connecticut, 1962-65, M.F.A. 1965; Stanford University, California (Stegner fellow), 1966-67. Career: Since 1968 freelance writer and film director. Awards: Rosent…
Nationality: American. Born: Hartford, Connecticut, 1955. Education: Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, B.A. 1976; Syracuse University, New York. Career: Reporter, Hunterdon Country Democrat, Flemington, New Jersey, 1977; editor, Time-Life, Osaka, Japan, 1978-79; fact checker, New Yorker, 1980; reader, Random House, publishers, New York, 1980-81; Instructor in English, Syracuse Univers…
Nationality: American. Born: Port Huron, Michigan, 1951. Education: University of California, Berkeley, B.A. 1979; Columbia University, M.F.A. 1979. Career: Visiting professor of creative writing, University of Wyoming, Laramie, 1987-90; associate professor of English, University of Arizona, Tucson, 1990-92; teacher of writer's workshop, Stanford University, Stanford, California; columnist …
Nationality: American. Born: Wichita Falls, Texas, 1936. Education: Archer City High School, Texas, graduated 1954; North Texas State College, Denton, B.A. 1958; Rice University, Houston, 1954, 1958-60, M.A. 1960; Stanford University, California (Stegner fellow), 1960-61. Career: Taught at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, 1961-62, Rice University, 1963-64 and 1965, George Mason College, Fai…
Nationality: New Zealander. Born: Auckland, New Zealand, 1931. Education: University of Auckland, B.A. 1952. Military Service: Territorial Service Army of New Zealand, World War II. Career: Journalist and arts editor, New Zealand Herald, Auckland, New Zealand, 1950-58; teacher, London, England, 1960-62; freelance radio broadcaster and radio documentary producer, 1962—. Lives in New Zealand.…
Nationality: British. Born: Candia Francis Juliet McWilliam in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1955. Education: Cambridge University, 1973-76, B.A. Career: Vogue Magazine, 1976-79; Slade, Bluffix, and Bigg, 1979-81. Awards: Vogue talent contest, 1970; Betty Trask prize, 1988, Scottish Arts Council prize, 1989; Guardian prize for fiction, 1994. Member: Society of Authors, Royal Society of Literature. Agent: J…
Nationality: Indian. Born: Gita Patnaik in Delhi, India, 1944. Education: Cambridge University. Career: Writer, journalist, and filmmaker. Lives in New York, London, and Delhi. Gita Mehta is a writer known, perhaps, more for her essays than her novels. She is also a documentary filmmaker and a journalist. These activities all share a focus on India, the country of her birth—its history, pol…
Nationality: Guyanese. Born: Guyana, 1948. Awards: Whitbread First Novel Award, 1997. Agent: c/o St. Martin's Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10010, U.S.A. A Guyanese author of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry, Pauline Melville has emerged in the last few years as a leading Caribbean writer, and one of the most accomplished talents on the modern literary scene. Shape-shif…
Pseudonyms: Barbara Michaels; Elizabeth Peters. Nationality: American. Born: Barbara Louise Gross Mertz in Canton, Illinois, 1927. Education: University of Chicago Oriental Institute, Ph.B. 1947, M.S. 1950, Ph.D. 1952. Career: Egyptologist. Awards: Grandmaster award, Bouchercon, 1986; Agatha award for best mystery novel, 1989, and Malice Domestic Convention, 1989, both for Naked Once More; Grand M…
Nationality: Canadian. Born: Carlisle, Cumberland, England, 1938. Education: Bristol University, 1957-61, B.A. (honors) in English 1960, Cert. Ed. 1961. Career: Taught at a secondary school and a boys' borstal, Bristol, 1961; Rosemount High School, Montreal, 1962-63; Royal Canadian Air Force Base, Cold Lake, Alberta, 1964-65; at a Catholic comprehensive school in England, 1965; and at schoo…
Nationality: Canadian. Born: Toronto, 1958. Education: University of Toronto, B.A. 1980. Awards: Epstein Award, 1980; Commonwealth Prize for the Americas, 1986; Canadian Authors' Association Award for Poetry, 1991; National Magazine Award (Gold) for Poetry, 1991; Martin and Beatrice Fisher Award, 1997; Trillium Award, 1997; Orange Prize, 1997. Agent: c/o McLelland & Stewart, 481 Univ…
Nationality: American. Born: New York City, 1933. Education: The High School for Music and Art, New York, graduated 1949; New York University, 1949-53, B.A. 1953; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, M.A. 1956, Ph.D. in English 1967. Career: Teacher, Paterson State College, New Jersey, 1961-62; assistant professor of English, University of California, Davis, 1967-69. Since 1970 professor of English,…
Nationality: British. Born: Bulwell, Nottingham, 1919. Education: High Pavement School, Nottingham; University College of Nottingham (now Nottingham University), 1938-40, 1946-47, B.A. (London) 1940; M.Ed. (Nottingham) 1952. Military Service: Served in the Royal Artillery and the Army Education Corps, 1940-46. Career: English Master, 1947-81, and head of the English Department, 1958-81, High Pavem…
Nationality: Australian (originally British, immigrated to Australia c.1952). Born: 1936. Career: Has held a variety of jobs, including cattle ranching, horse breaking, art brokering, and teaching. Currently a full-time writer. Awards: Miles Franklin award, 1993, and Commonwealth Writers prize, 1993, both for The Ancestor Game. Migration is a recurrent theme in Alex Miller's writing, which…
Nationality: American. Born: New York, 1943. Education: Columbia College, New York, 1961-65, B.A., Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, 1968-1971 and 1976-77. Career: Visiting associate professor of English, Williams College, 1986-88; associate professor of English, Skidmore College, 1988-1992. Since 1992 professor of English, Skidmore College. Awards: Prix Medicis Étranger, 1975; Amer…
Nationality: American. Born: Boston, Massachusetts, 1956. Education: Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, B.A.; Columbia University, New York, M.F.A. Career: Associate editor, Grand Street, New York, 1982-86; adjunct professor, Graduate Writing Program, New York University, 1987, and Columbia University, New York, 1989. Awards: Prix Femina Étranger, 1987. A loving detailer of her regi…
Nationality: American. Born: Boston, Massachusetts, 1939. Education: Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, B.A. (magna cum laude) 1961 (Phi Beta Kappa); Stanford University, California (Woodrow Wilson fellow), M.A. 1962. Military Service: Served in the United States Air Force Reserve, 1962-68. Career: Schoolteacher, Boston, 1962; staff writer, American Heritage, New York, 1964; lecturer in…
Nationality: Canadian (originally Indian; immigrated to Canada, 1975; naturalized Canadian citizen). Born: Bombay, India, 1952. Education: University of Bombay, B.S. 1975; University of Toronto, B.A. 1984. Career: Has worked in a bank in Toronto. Since 1985 full-time writer. Awards: Canadian Fiction annual contributor's award, 1985; Governor General's award for best fiction, 1991, Sm…
Nationality: British. Born: Epping, Essex, 1935. Education: Winchester College, Hampshire, 1948-53; Wadham College, Oxford, B.A. 1958; St. Antony's College, Oxford, M.A. 1962. Military Service: Served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, 1953-55: Midshipman. Career: Member, Arts Council Literature Panel, 1966-69; formerly, Governor, Chelsea School of Art, London; chair, Welsh Arts Council…
Nationality: British. Born: Hong Kong in 1950; brought to London in 1960. Education: Mill Hill School, London; St. John's College, Oxford. Career: Journalist, Times Educational Supplement, New Statesman, and Boxing News, all London. Awards: Geoffrey Faber Memorial prize, 1978; Hawthornden prize, 1982; James Tait Black Memorial prize, 1999. Hong Kong-born Timothy Mo, the son of a Cantonese …
Nationality: American. Born: Lawton, Oklahoma, 1934. Education: The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, A.B. 1958; Stanford University, California (creative writing fellow, 1959), A.M. 1960, Ph.D. 1963. Career: Assistant professor, 1963-67, and associate professor, 1967-69, University of California, Santa Barbara; professor of English and comparative literature, University of California, Berkel…
Nationality: American. Born: 1962. Education: Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, B.A.; Columbia University, New York, graduate writing program. Awards: Pushcart Press Editors' Book Award; O. Henry Award. Rick Moody is one of the most gifted American novelists of his generation. Born in New York City, Moody spent his childhood and youth in many northeastern American locations. The …
Pseudonyms: Bill Barclay; Edward P. Bradbury; James Colvin; Hank Janson; Desmond Reid. Nationality: British. Born: Mitcham, Surrey, 1939. Military Service: Served in the Royal Air Force Training Corps. Career: Editor, Tarzan Adventures, London, 1956-57, and Sexton Blake Library, Fleetway Publications, London, 1958-61; editor and writer for Liberal Party, 1962-63. Editor since 1964 and publisher si…
Nationality: American. Born: Marie Lorena Moore in Glens Falls, New York, 1957. Education: St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York, 1974-78, B.A. (summa cum laude) 1978; Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, 1980-82, M.F.A. 1982. Career: Assistant professor, 1984-87, and since 1987 associate professor of English, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Awards: National Endowment for the Arts award, 19…