Alexi Zentner (born August 29, 1973 in

Kitchener, Ontario Kitchener is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, about west of Toronto. It is one of three cities that make up the Regional Municipality of Waterloo and is the regional Administrative centre, seat. Kitchener was known as Berlin until a ...

) is a Canadian-American

short story writer A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single 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 old ...

, and

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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

Life

He graduated from Grinnell College with a BA and

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

with an MFA. He taught at Cornell University. He's now on the faculty at

Binghamton University The State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University or SUNY Binghamton) is a public university, public research university in Binghamton metropolitan area, Greater Binghamton, New York, United States. It is one of the four uni ...

. His fiction has also appeared in ''

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

'', ''

Narrative Magazine ''Narrative Magazine'' is a non-profit digital publisher of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and art founded in 2003 by Tom Jenks and Carol Edgarian. ''Narrative'' publishes weekly and provides educational resources to teachers and students; sub ...

'' (where it was awarded the 2008 Narrative Prize). He lives in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca () is a city in and the county seat of Tompkins County, New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York (state), New York, Ithaca is the largest community in the Ithaca metrop ...

, with his wife and two children.

Awards

His short story "Touch," originally published in

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. History Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer ...

is featured in 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 ...

Stories 2008 where it was chosen as a jury favorite by author

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (born Grace Ngozi Adichie; 15 September 1977) is a Nigerians, Nigerian writer of novels, short stories, poem, and children's books; she is also a book reviewer and literary critic. Her most famous works include ''Purple ...

. Two of Alexi's short stories were also selected for "special mention" in the 2008

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 ...

anthology. "Trapline" was awarded the 2008

Narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether non-fictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller ...

Prize. His

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

'' was a longlisted nominee for the 2011

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

and shortlisted for the Governor General Award for English-language fiction.

Works

Novels

*
Copperhead
' (novel) (Penguin Random House, 2019) *
The Lobster Kings
' (W. W. Norton & Company, 2014) *
Touch
' (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011)

Short fiction

*"Touch", 2008
"Trapline", ''Narrative Magazine'', Fall 2008"Furlough", ''The Atlantic'', August 2009

Anthologies

* * Zentner also writes mysteries and horror novels under the pen nam
Ezekiel Boone

References

External links

Alexi Zentner
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zentner, Alexi Living people Cornell University alumni Grinnell College alumni 21st-century American novelists Canadian male short story writers Writers from Kitchener, Ontario American male novelists Canadian male novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists American male short story writers 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century Canadian male writers 1973 births 21st-century American male writers O. Henry Award winners Novelists from Ontario