Edith Ann Pearlman ('' née'' Grossman; June 26, 1936 – January 1, 2023) was 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.Edith Pearlman
Author Spotlight, Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories

Early life and career

Pearlman was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

, where she grew up in a middle-class Jewish neighborhood, the daughter of Edna (Rosen) and Herman Paul Grossman, an ophthalmologist. Her father was born in Ukraine, and her maternal grandparents emigrated from Poland. She graduated from Radcliffe College. She has worked in a computer firm and a soup kitchen and has served in the Town Meeting of Brookline, Massachusetts. Her non-fiction has appeared in ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

Smithsonian Magazine ''Smithsonian'' is the official journal published by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. The first issue was published in 1970. History The history of ''Smithsonian'' began when Edward K. Thompson, the retired editor of ''Life'' mag ...

'', '' Preservation'', and ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bos ...

''. Her travel writing – about the Cotswolds,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

– has been published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' and elsewhere. In January 2015, her fifth collection of short stories, ''Honeydew'', was chosen as one of Oprah Winfrey's 'top 19 books to read right now'.

Personal life and death

Pearlman lived in Brookline, Massachusetts, with her husband. They had two children. Pearlman died in Brookline on January 1, 2023, at the age of 86.

Awards and honors

Source: *2014

Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Literary Prize is an annual British literary prize inaugurated in 1977. It is named after the host ''Jewish Quarterly'' and the prize's founder Harold Hyam Wingate. The award recognises Jewish and non-Jewish writers r ...

, shortlist, ''Binocular Vision'' *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".Edward Lewis Wallant Award In 1962, the Edward Lewis Wallant Award was established at the University of Hartford, in Connecticut, USA by Fran and Irving Waltman. It is presented annually to a writer whose fiction is considered to have significance for American Jews. The award ...

, ''Binocular Vision'' *2011

PEN/Malamud Award The PEN/Malamud Award and Memorial Reading honors "excellence in the art of the short story", and is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation. The selection committee is composed of PEN/Faulkner directors and representatives of Bernard Ma ...

*2011

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 ...

, finalist, ''Binocular Vision'' *2008 Pushcart Prize XXXIII, "Door Psalm" *2006 Best American Short Stories 2006, "Self-Reliance" *2003 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, "The Story" *2001 Pushcart Prize XXV, "Mates" *2000 Best American Short Stories 2000, "Allog" *1999

The Antioch Review ''The Antioch Review'' is an American literary magazine established in 1941 at Antioch College in Ohio. The magazine was published on a quarterly basis. One of the oldest continuously published literary magazines in the United States prior to it ...

Distinguished Fiction Award *1998 Best American Short Stories 1998, "Chance" *1991 Syndicated Fiction Award (from NEA) *1987 Syndicated Fiction Award *1984 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, "Conveniences" *1978 The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories, "Hanging Fire"

Works

Short story collections

* Winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize * Winner of Spokane Prize for Literature * Winner of Mary McCarthy Prize * *

Anthologies

* *

References

External links

*
Trove''Commentary Magazine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearlman, Edith 1936 births 2023 deaths American women short story writers Radcliffe College alumni PEN/Malamud Award winners Lincoln School (Providence, Rhode Island) alumni Jewish American non-fiction writers Jewish American short story writers American women travel writers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American short story writers American travel writers Writers from Providence, Rhode Island Writers from Brookline, Massachusetts