Steven Millhauser (born August 3, 1943) is an American

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

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. He won the 1997

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 ...

for his novel '' Martin Dressler''.

Life and career

Millhauser was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, grew up in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, and earned a B.A. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1965. He then pursued a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in English at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. He never completed his dissertation but wrote parts of '' Edwin Mullhouse'' and ''From the Realm of Morpheus'' in two separate stays at Brown. Between times at the university, he wrote ''Portrait of a Romantic'' at his parents' house in Connecticut. His story "The Invention of Robert Herendeen" (in ''The Barnum Museum'') features a failed student who has moved back in with his parents; the story is loosely based on this period of Millhauser's life. Until the Pulitzer Prize, Millhauser was best known for his 1972 debut novel, ''Edwin Mullhouse''. This novel, about a precocious writer whose career ends abruptly with his death at age eleven, features the fictional Jeffrey Cartwright playing Boswell to Edwin's

Johnson Johnson is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin meaning "Son of John". It is the second most common in the United States and 154th most common in the world. As a common family name in Scotland, Johnson is occasionally a variation of ''Johnston'', a ...

. ''Edwin Mullhouse'' brought critical acclaim, and Millhauser followed with a second novel, ''Portrait of a Romantic'', in 1977, and his first collection of short stories, '' In The Penny Arcade'', in 1986. Possibly the most well-known of his short stories is "Eisenheim the Illusionist" (published in "The Barnum Museum"), based on a pseudo-mythical tale of a magician who stunned audiences in Vienna in the latter part of the 19th century. It was made into the film, '' The Illusionist'' (2006). Millhauser's stories often treat

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

themes in a manner reminiscent of

Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widel ...

Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

, with a distinctively American voice. As critic

Russell Potter Russell A. Potter (born 1960) is an American writer and college professor, and guitarist. His work encompasses hip hop culture, popular music, and the history of British exploration of the Arctic in the nineteenth century, as well as the materi ...

has noted, "in (Millhauser's stories), mechanical cowboys at penny arcades come to life; curious amusement parks, museums, or catacombs beckon with secret passageways and walking automata; dreamers dream and children fly out their windows at night on magic carpets." Millhauser's collections of stories continued with ''

The Barnum Museum ''The Barnum Museum'' is a 1990 collection of fantasy themed short stories by Steven Millhauser Steven Millhauser (born August 3, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel ' ...

'' (1990), ''

Little Kingdoms Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt * ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film *The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...

'' (1993), and ''

The Knife Thrower and Other Stories ''The Knife Thrower and Other Stories'' by Steven Millhauser, first published in 1998 by Crown Publishers, Inc., New York City. It is a collection of short stories, some of which were published by various journals, such as The Paris Review, Har ...

'' (1998). The unexpected success of ''Martin Dressler'' in 1997 brought Millhauser increased attention. ''Dangerous Laughter: Thirteen Stories'' made the ''New York Times Book Review'' list of "10 Best Books of 2008" .

Personal life

Millhauser lives in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over ...

. He taught at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. Histo ...

for almost thirty years before retiring in 2017. He was previously married to Cathy Allis, an occupational therapist and crossword constructor.

Awards and honors

*2012

The 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 p ...

, '' We Others'' *1997

, ''Martin Dressler''

Bibliography

Novels

* *''Portrait of a Romantic'' (1977) *''From the Realm of Morpheus'' (1986) *'' Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer'' (1996)

Short fiction

;Collections *''In the Penny Arcade'' (1986) *''

'' (1990) *''Little Kingdoms'' (1993) (Novellas) *'' The Knife Thrower'' (1998) *''Enchanted Night'' (1999) (Novella) *''The King in the Tree: Three Novellas'' (2003) *''Dangerous Laughter: Thirteen Stories'' (2008) *'' We Others: New and Selected Stories'' (2011) *''Voices in the Night'' (Alfred A. Knopf, April 2015) ;StoriesShort stories unless otherwise noted.

Critical studies and reviews of Millhauser's work

*''Understanding Steven Millhauser (Understanding Contemporary American Fiction)'', by Earl G. Ingersoll. University of South Carolina Press, 2014 *''Steven Millhauser : la précision de l'impossible'', by Marc Chénetier. Paris: Belin, 2013 ISSN 1275-0018

Notes

External links

Interview
conducted by Etienne Février for Transatlantica (2011)
Interview
conducted by Jim Shepard for BOMB Magazine (2003)
Interview
conducted by Marc Chénetier for Transatlantica (2003) * *

from ''Enchanted Night'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Millhauser, Steven 1943 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American male novelists American male short story writers Columbia College (New York) alumni People from Saratoga Springs, New York Postmodern writers Prix Médicis étranger winners Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners Skidmore College faculty The New Yorker people World Fantasy Award-winning writers Novelists from Connecticut PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)