Anthony Doerr (born October 27, 1973) is an American author of novels and short stories. He gained widespread recognition for his 2014 novel '' All the Light We Cannot See'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Early life and education

Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Doerr attended the nearby University School, graduating in 1991. He then majored in history at

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint e ...

in Brunswick, Maine, graduating in 1995. He earned an MFA from Bowling Green State University.

Career

Doerr's first book was a collection of short stories called ''The Shell Collector'' (2002). Many of the stories take place in countries within Africa and New Zealand, where he has worked and lived. His first novel, ''About Grace'', was released in 2004. His memoir, ''Four Seasons in Rome'', was published in 2007, and his second collection of short stories, ''Memory Wall,'' was published in 2010. Doerr's second novel, '' All the Light We Cannot See'', is set in occupied

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and was published in 2014. It received significant critical acclaim and was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction. The book was a ''New York Times'' bestseller, and was named by the newspaper as a notable book of 2014. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. It was runner-up for the 2015 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for Fiction and won the 2015 Ohioana Library Association Book Award for Fiction. Doerr writes a column on science books for ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' and is a contributor to '' The Morning News'', an online magazine. From 2007 to 2010, he was the Writer in Residence for the state of Idaho. Doerr's third novel, ''

Cloud Cuckoo Land Cloud cuckoo land is a state of absurdly, over-optimistic fantasy or an unrealistically idealistic state of mind where everything appears to be perfect. Someone who is said to "live in cloud cuckoo land" is a person who thinks that things th ...

'', follows three story lines, scattered throughout time: Thirteen-year-old Anna and Omeir, an orphaned seamstress and a cursed boy, on opposite sides of formidable city walls during the 1453 siege of Constantinople; teenage idealist Seymour and octogenarian Zeno in an attack on a public library in present-day Idaho; and Konstance, decades from now, who turns to the oldest stories to guide her community in peril. ''Cloud Cuckoo Land'' was released September 28, 2021. It was shortlisted for the 2021 National Book Award for Fiction.

Personal life

Doerr is married, has twin sons and lives in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

Bibliography

Novels

''About Grace''
(2004) *'' All the Light We Cannot See'' (2014) *''

'' (2021)

Short story collections

''The Shell Collector''
(2002)
''Memory Wall''
(2010) * '' The Best American Short Stories 2019'' (Editor)

Memoirs

''Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World''
(2007)

Awards

* 2002: Barnes & Noble Discover Prize, for ''The Shell Collector'' * 2002: O. Henry Prize for "The Hunter's Wife" (Short story) * 2003:

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

's Young Lions Fiction Award, winner, ''The Shell Collector'' * 2003: O. Henry Prize for "The Shell Collector" (Short story) * 2005: Rome Prize in Literature from the

American Academy in Rome The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome. The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. History In 1893, a group of American architects ...

* 2005, 2011: Ohioana Book Award for ''About Grace'' and ''Memory Wall'', respectively * 2008: O. Henry Prize for "Village 113" (Short story) * 2010:

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 ar ...

* 2011: The Story Prize, winner, ''Memory Wall'' * 2011: Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award, winner, "The Deep" * 2012: O. Henry Prize for "The Deep" (Short story) * 2014: finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction * 2015: Pulitzer Prize for '' All the Light We Cannot See'' * 2021: O. Henry Prize for "The Master’s Castle" (Short story)

References

External links

Official website
* Video
The Story Prize reading
with Yiyun Li and Suzanne Rivecca. March 2, 2011.
Best Selling Books by Anthony Doerr from Local Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doerr, Anthony American columnists 21st-century American novelists Bowdoin College alumni 1973 births Living people Poets Laureate of Idaho American male novelists Novelists from Ohio 21st-century American poets American male poets American male short story writers Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers