Deb Olin Unferth 2011 NBCC Awards 2012 Shankbone

Deb Olin Unferth (born November 19, 1968) is an American

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one 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 oldest ...

writer,

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

, and memoirist. She is the author of the collection of stories ''Minor Robberies'', the novel ''Vacation'', both published by ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American non-profit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. Initially publishing the literary journal'' Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', the company has moved t ...

'', and the memoir, ''Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War'', published by Henry Holt. Unferth was a finalist for a 2012

National Book Critics Circle Award The National Book Critics Circle Awards are a set of annual American literary awards by the National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) to promote "the finest books and reviews published in English".Harper's'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Paris Review'', ''Granta'', ''

'', '' The Believer'', ''

The Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and other magazines. She is a frequent contributor to ''

Noon Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 ( military time). Sola ...

''. She also has received two

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

s. Unferth is an associate professor in creative writing at

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where she teaches for the Michener Center and the New Writers Project.

Prison Education

She founded and runs the Pen-City Writers, a two-year creative-writing certificate program at a maximum security prison in southern Texas. For this work she won the 2017 Texas Governor's Criminal Justice Service Award.

Books

*''Barn 8'' (novel, Graywolf Press), 2020 *''Wait Till You See Me Dance'' (story collection, Graywolf Press), 2017 * ''I, Parrot'' (graphic novel) with Elizabeth Haidle, 2017 * ''Revolution'' (memoir, Henry Holt), 2011 * ''Vacation'' (novel, McSweeney's), 2008 * ''Minor Robberies'' (short stories, McSweeney's), 2007

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

, 2018 *

for "Likeable," 2014 *National Book Critics Award finalist for ''Revolution'', 2012 *Pushcart Prize, 2011 *

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

Grant for Literature, 2009 *Cabell

First Novelist Award The VCU Cabell First Novelist Award is an American literary award for debut novels. It has been presented annually since 2002 on behalf of Virginia Commonwealth University's MFA in Creative Writing Program. Nominations are solicited from MFA pro ...

for ''Vacation'', 2009 *Pushcart Prize, 2005

Online Texts

Nonfiction

Memoir Manifesto

Where I Write

Unferth reads from her memoir Revolution
on the InDigest podcast

Short fiction

Minor Robberies
ref>

Interviews

Interview
on The Rumpus
Interview
on HTMLGIANT
Interview
on Bookslut with Tao Lin
2011 radio interview (50 minutes)
at The Bat Segundo Show
"I Start From a Place of Outrage and Sadness": A conversation on humor in fiction with Elisa Albert, Steve Almond, Brock Clarke, Sam Lipsyte, Zachary Martin, John McNally, and Deb Olin Unferth in ''Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts'' (24.2)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Unferth, Deb 21st-century American novelists American women novelists American women short story writers Wesleyan University faculty Living people 1969 births 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American short story writers MacDowell Colony fellows American women academics