Benjamin Hale (born August 20, 1983 in Hayward, California) is an American novelist based in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

. He was raised in Boulder, Colorado, where he attended Fairview High School. In 2006, he received a B.A. from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sarah Lawrence scholarship, particularly i ...

and earned an M.F.A. in 2008 from the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a celebrated graduate-level creative writing program in the United States. The writer Lan Samantha Chang is its director. Graduates earn a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in Creative Wr ...

, where he received an Iowa Provost's Fellowship and a Michener-Copernicus Award.DeFiore and Company
. Defioreandco.com. Retrieved on 2012-02-26. Since 2013, Hale has taught fiction and literature at

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 18 ...

as a

Writer in Residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

. Hale's first novel, ''The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore'', was released by

Twelve Books Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Grou ...

on February 2, 2011The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore
Hachette Book Group (2009-09-18). Retrieved on 2012-02-26. to largely positive reviews. The novel tells the story of an extraordinarily precocious chimpanzee who learns to speak in English and develops a romantic relationship with a human female primatologist. Narrated in the protagonist ape's own voice, the novel depicts Bruno Littlemore's development from a captive zoo animal into a virtually-human aesthete and intellectual, often highlighting his struggle to negotiate the human and animal aspects of his character. ''The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore'' garnered Hale the 2012 Bard Fiction Prize, as well as nominations for the 2011

Dylan Thomas Prize The Dylan Thomas Prize is a leading prize for young writers presented annually. The prize, named in honour of the Welsh writer and poet Dylan Thomas, brings international prestige and a remuneration of £30,000 (~$46,000). It is open to published ...

and the 2012 New York Public Library

Young Lions Fiction Award The Young Lions Fiction Award is an annual US literary prize of $10,000, awarded to a writer who is 35 years old or younger for a novel or collection of short stories. The award was established in 2001 by Ethan Hawke, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Rick ...

. Hale's second work of fiction, a collection of short stories titled ''The Fat Artist and Other Stories'', was published by Simon and Schuster in 2016. Critics have described these stories as "excellent," "jarring," "erudite," and "wry." Hale's non-fiction work has appeared in Harper's and The Millions.A Passion for Immortality: On the Missing Pulitzer and the Problem with Prizes
The Millions (2012-05-29) Retrieved on 2012-11-13. He is represented by DeFiore and Company, and is currently working on a new novel. Benjamin often loses at chess to his brother in law Sam Millard, but enjoys chess anyway. He currently lives in the Hudson valley.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Interview
on KRUI's ''The Lit Show''
Interview
on Chuck Palahniuk's official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hale, Benjamin 21st-century American novelists American male novelists 1983 births Living people Writers from Boulder, Colorado Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Sarah Lawrence College alumni 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Colorado