Edna Ann Proulx (; born August 22, 1935) is an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist. She has written most frequently as Annie Proulx but has also used the names E. Annie Proulx and E.A. Proulx. She won the

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Fi ...

for her first novel, ''

Postcards A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...

''. Her second novel, ''

The Shipping News ''The Shipping News'' is a novel by American author E. Annie Proulx and published by Charles Scribner's Sons in 1993. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the U.S. National Book Award, as well as other awards. It was adapted as a film of the ...

'' (1993), won both the

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published durin ...

and the U.S.

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

and was adapted as a 2001 film of the same name. Her short story "

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from the 1997 short story of the same name by Annie Proulx, the screenplay was written ...

" was adapted as an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

, BAFTA and

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

-winning

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

released in 2005.

Personal life

Proulx was born Edna Ann Proulx in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The Yantic, Shetucket, and Quinebaug Rivers flow into the city and form its harbor, from which the Thames River flows south to ...

, to Lois Nellie ( Gill) and Georges-Napoléon Proulx. Her first name honored one of her mother's aunts. She is of English and

French-Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fre ...

ancestry. Her maternal forebears came to America in 1635, 15 years after the ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, ...

'' arrived. She graduated from

Deering High School Deering High School (DHS) is a public high school in Portland, Maine, United States. The school is part of the Portland Public Schools district. It is one of the three public high schools located in Portland, the others being Portland High Scho ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, then attended

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanth ...

"for a short period in the 1950s", where she met her first husband, H. Ridgely Bullock, Jr. She later returned to college, studying at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a public land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is among the oldest universities in the Unite ...

from 1966 to 1969, and graduated ''

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...

'' and

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

with a B.A. in history in 1969. She earned her

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Sir George Williams University (now

Concordia University Concordia University (French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

) in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

in 1973 and pursued, but did not complete, a Ph.D. In 1999, Concordia awarded her an honorary doctorate. Proulx lived for more than 30 years in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

, has married and divorced three times, and has three sons and a daughter (Jonathan, Gillis, Morgan, and Sylvia). In 1994, she moved to

Saratoga, Wyoming Saratoga is a town in Carbon County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. Saratoga is the home of the Steinley Cup microbrew festival and competition, usually held in August at Veterans Island Park, a playground ...

, spending part of the year in northern

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

on a small cove adjacent to

L'Anse aux Meadows L'Anse aux Meadows ( lit. Meadows Cove) is an archaeological site, first excavated in the 1960s, of a Norse settlement dating to approximately 1,000 years ago. The site is located on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the C ...

. As of 2019, Proulx lived in

Port Townsend, Washington Port Townsend is a city on the Quimper Peninsula in Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The population was 10,148 at the 2020 United States Census. It is the county seat and only incorporated city of Jefferson County. In addition t ...

Writing career and recognition

Starting as a journalist, her first published work of fiction is "''The Customs Lounge''", a science fiction story published in the September 1963 issue of '' If'', under the byline "E.A. Proulx". A year later, her science fiction story "''All the Pretty Little Horses''" appeared in the teen magazine '' Seventeen'' in June 1964. She subsequently published stories 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 gentlema ...

'' magazine and ''

Gray's Sporting Journal ''Gray's Sporting Journal'' is a magazine dedicated to the pursuit of outdoor recreation, with an emphasis on hunting and fishing. It is a consciously literary publication, using a "blind reader" to select articles, poems, and stories for publicat ...

'' in the late 1970s, eventually publishing her first collection in 1988 and her first novel in 1992. She was awarded a NEA fellowship in 1992 and a Guggenheim fellowship in 1993. She had the following comment on her celebrity status: In 1997, Proulx was awarded the Dos Passos Prize, a mid-career award for American writers. Proulx has twice won the

O. Henry Prize The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

for the year's best short story. In 1998, she won for "

", which had appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' on October 13, 1997. Proulx won again the following year for "The Mud Below", which appeared in ''The New Yorker'' June 22 and 29, 1999. Both appear in her 1999 collection of short stories, '' Close Range: Wyoming Stories''. The lead story in this collection, entitled "The Half-Skinned Steer", was selected by author

Garrison Keillor Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (; born August 7, 1942) is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (called ''Garrison Keillor's Radi ...

for inclusion in ''

The Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

1998,'' (Proulx herself edited the 1997 edition of this series) and later by novelist

John Updike John Hoyer Updike (March 18, 1932 – January 27, 2009) was an American novelist, poet, short-story writer, art critic, and literary critic. One of only four writers to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction more than once (the others being Booth Tar ...

for inclusion in ''The Best American Short Stories of the Century'' (1999). In 2007, the composer

Charles Wuorinen Charles Peter Wuorinen (; June 9, 1938 – March 11, 2020) was an American composer of contemporary classical music based in New York City. He performed his works and other 20th-century music as pianist and conductor. He composed more than ...

approached Proulx with the idea of turning her short story "Brokeback Mountain" into an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

. The opera of the same name with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major li ...

by Proulx herself premiered January 28, 2014, at the

Teatro Real The Teatro Real (Royal Theatre) is an opera house in Madrid, Spain. Located at the Plaza de Oriente, opposite the Royal Palace, and known colloquially as ''El Real'', it is considered the top institution of the performing and musical arts in the ...

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

. It was praised as an often brilliant adaptation that clearly conveyed the text of the libretto with music that is rich in imagination and variety. In 2017, she received the Fitzgerald Award for that year for Achievement in American Literature.

Bibliography

Nonfiction

* * * * ''Plan and Make Your Own Fences & Gates, Walkways, Walls & Drives'' (1983), *''The Fine Art of Salad Gardening''. 1985. * ''The Gourmet Gardener: Growing Choice Fruits and Vegetables with Spectacular Results'' (1987), * * ''Bird Cloud: A Memoir'' (2011), *Foreword (2018) In: Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming's Ungulates. Alethea Y. Steingisser, Emilene Ostlind, Hall Sawyer, James E. Meacham, Matthew J. Kauffman, and William J. Rudd (Eds.). *''Fen, Bog & Swamp: A Short History of Peatland Destruction and Its Role in the Climate Crisis'' (2022)

Essay

''Swamps Can Protect Against Climate Change, If We Only Let Them''
In:

, June 27, 2022 (July 4, 2022).

Novels

* ''

'' (1992), * ''

'' (1993), * '' Accordion Crimes'' (1996), * '' That Old Ace in the Hole'' (2002), * ''

Barkskins ''Barkskins'' is a 2016 novel by American writer Annie Proulx. It tells the story of two immigrants to New France, René Sel and Charles Duquet, and of their descendants. It spans over 300 years and witnesses the deforestation of the New World f ...

'' (2016),

Short fiction

Collections

* ''Heart Songs and Other Stories'' (1988), ; republished with altered but similar content as trade paperback '' Heart Songs'' (1994) * '' Close Range: Wyoming Stories'' (1999), * '' Bad Dirt: Wyoming Stories 2'' (2004), * '' Fine Just the Way It Is: Wyoming Stories 3'' (2008),

Stories

Awards and recognition

* 1993—

PEN/Faulkner Award The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Fi ...

for Fiction (''Postcards'') * 1993—''Chicago Tribune'' Heartland Prize for Fiction

* 1993—''Irish Times'' International Fiction Prize

* 1993—

National Book Award The National Book Awards 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. The Nat ...

, Fiction

"National Book Awards – 1993"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
(With acceptance speech by Proulx and essays by Bob Shacochis and Mark Sarvas from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) * 1994—

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

, Fiction

"Fiction"
''Past winners & finalists by category''. The Pulitzer Prizes. Retrieved 2012-03-28. * 1997—Shortlisted for the 1997 Orange Prize (Accordion Crimes) * 1997—

John Dos Passos Prize The John Dos Passos Prize is an annual literary award given to American writers. The Prize was founded at Longwood University in 1980 and is meant to honor John Dos Passos John Roderigo Dos Passos (; January 14, 1896 – September 28, 1970) ...

for Literature (for body of work) * 1998—"Half-Skinned Steer", ''The Best American Short Stories 1998'' * 1998—"Brokeback Mountain", O. Henry Awards ''O. Henry Awards: Prize Stories 1998'' * 1998—"Brokeback Mountain",

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 ...

* 1999—"The Mud Below," ''O. Henry Awards: Prize Stories 1999'' * 1999—"The Bunchgrass Edge of the World," ''The Best American Short Stories 1999'' * 1999—"Half-Skinned Steer", ''The Best American Short Stories of the Century'', edited by John Updike * 2000—The New Yorker Book Award, Best Fiction 1999 (''Close Range: Wyoming Stories'') * 2000—English-Speaking Union's Ambassador Book Award (''Close Range: Wyoming Stories'') * 2000—"People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water," ''The Best American Short Stories 2000'' * 2000—Borders Original Voices Award in Fiction (Close Range, Wyoming Stories) * 2000—

WILLA Literary Award WILLA Literary Award honors outstanding literature featuring women's stories, set in the Western United States, published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a non-profit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting th ...

, Women Writing the West * 2002—Best Foreign Language Novels of 2002 / Best American Novel Award, Chinese Publishing Association and Peoples' Literature Publishing House (''That Old Ace in the Hole'') * 2004—

Aga Khan Prize for Fiction The Aga Khan Prize for Fiction was awarded by the editors of '' The Paris Review'' for what they deem to be the best short story published in the magazine in a given year. The last prize was given in 2004. No applications were accepted. The winner ...

for "The Wamsutter Wolf" * 2012—

United States Artists United States Artists (USA) is a national arts funding organization based in Chicago. USA is dedicated to supporting living artists and cultural practitioners across the United States by granting unrestricted awards. Mission The organization' ...

Fellow award * 2017— National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters (lifetime achievement) * 2018— Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

Adaptations

* ''

'' (2001) was directed by

Lasse Hallström Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop group ABBA, and subsequently became a feature film director. He was nominated for an Academ ...

and featured

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

as the protagonist Quoyle,

Judi Dench Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...

as Agnis Hamm and

Julianne Moore Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is particularly known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent films, ...

as Wavey Prowse. * ''

'' (2005), directed by

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

and starring

Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...

and

Jake Gyllenhaal Jacob Benjamin Gyllenhaal (; ; born December 19, 1980) is an American actor. Born into the Gyllenhaal family, he is the son of director Stephen Gyllenhaal and screenwriter Naomi Foner, and his older sister is actress Maggie Gyllenhaal. He ...

, was based on a story of the same name in Proulx's collection of short stories, '' Close Range''. * ''

'', a

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

television series based on Proulx's 2016 novel, premiered on May 25, 2020.

References

External links

*
Books That Changed My Life
PEN World Voices at the New York Public Library May 4, 2008
An Interview with Annie Proulx
Bookslut, December 2005.
Interview with Annie Proulx in the Fall 2005 Wyoming Library Roundup
(PDF 3.69 MB) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Proulx, Annie 1935 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers American women novelists Postmodern writers National Book Award winners Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners American people of English descent American people of French-Canadian descent Writers from Portland, Maine Novelists from Connecticut Novelists from Vermont Writers from Wyoming Colby College alumni Sir George Williams University alumni University of Vermont alumni Concordia University alumni The New Yorker people Novelists from Maine People from Saratoga, Wyoming Deering High School alumni