Christopher John Offutt (born August 24, 1958) is an American writer. He is most widely known for his short stories and novels, but he has also published three memoirs and multiple nonfiction articles. In 2005, he had a story included in a comic book collection edited by

Michael Chabon Michael Chabon ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, D.C., he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, ...

, and another in the anthology ''Noir''. He has written episodes for the TV series '' True Blood'' and ''

Weeds A weed is an unwanted plant of any species. Weed or weeds may also refer to: Places * Weed, Arkansas, an unincorporated community in the United States * Weed, California, a city in the United States * Weed, Kentucky, an unincorporated communit ...

.''

Early life and education

Chris Offutt was born in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, the son of Andrew J. Offutt, an author, and his wife Jodie. His brother Jeff Offutt is a professor of software engineering. He has two sisters: Scotty Hyde, who lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Melissa Offutt, who lives in San Diego. They grew up in Haldeman, a small former

mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

community located in Rowan County in the Appalachian Mountain foothills of eastern Kentucky. They all attended public schools. Offutt quit high school intending to join the army, but failed the physical. Offutt subsequently attended

Morehead State University Morehead State University (MSU) is a public university in Morehead, Kentucky, United States. The university began as Morehead Normal School, which opened its doors in 1887. The Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics, a two-yea ...

and graduated with a degree in theater and a minor in English. After college, he hitchhiked around the country, taking more than 50 jobs, all part-time, and began writing. Offutt later attended the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

Literary career

In 1992, Offutt published his first short story collection, ''Kentucky Straight''. His second book was the 1993 memoir ''The Same River Twice''. In 1997 he published his first novel, ''The Good Brother''. In 1998 he published ''Two-Eleven All Around''. In 1999, he published his second collection of stories, ''Out of the Woods''. His next book was a memoir, ''No Heroes: A Memoir of Coming Home'' (2002), about a six-month return to Rowan County where he had lived as a child. Offutt's story, “Chuck’s Bucket,” was included in ''McSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales'' (2002), edited by

. In 2005, Offutt made his comic book debut when he wrote "Another Man's Escape" for ''Michael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures of the Escapist''. A second comic is included in the anthology ''Noir'', from Dark Horse Comics. Offutt has been a visiting faculty member at the

, the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

, the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

, and

Mercer University Mercer University is a Private university, private Research university, research university in Macon, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the s ...

. He is teaching at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

as visiting faculty. In addition to his fiction, Offutt writes non-fiction articles, which have been published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''

Men's Journal ''Men's Journal'' was an American men's lifestyle magazine focused on outdoor recreation and comprising editorials on the outdoors, environmental issues, health and fitness, style and fashion, and gear. It was founded in 1992 by Jann Wenner of ...

'', and the ''Oxford American'' and aired on

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

. His work is widely translated, and it is taught in high schools and colleges. His stories are included in many anthologies, including ''Best American Short Stories'', and ''New Stories of the South'' (four works). They have twice been featured on "Selected Shorts" on NPR. He has also written screenplays for TV series.

Honors

His work has received awards from the Lannan Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

, and the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

. He received a Whiting Award in Fiction and Nonfiction. In 1996 Offutt was named one of the twenty best young American fiction writers by ''

Granta ''Granta'' is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centres on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story's supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make ...

'' magazine.

Works

Bibliography

Mick Hardin mysteries

*''The Killing Hills'' (2021) *''Shifty's Boys'' (2022) *''Code of the Hills'' (2023) *''The Reluctant Sheriff'' (2025)

Other novels

*''The Good Brother'' (1997) *''Country Dark'' (2018)

Collections

* ''Kentucky Straight: Stories'' (1992) * ''Out of the Woods'' (1999)

Short works

* ''Two-Eleven All Around'' (1998) * "Moscow, Idaho," Originally Published in ''Granta 54: Best of Young American Novelists''

Memoirs

* ''The Same River Twice: A Memoir'' (1993) * ''No Heroes: A Memoir of Coming Home'' (2002) * ''My Father, the Pornographer: A Memoir'' (February 2016)

Stories and articles

"Chicken Eggs", ''Oxford American'', Spring 2014

* ttp://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/550-trash-food "Trash Food", ''Oxford American'', Spring 2015

Television

*'' True Blood'' **"Burning House of Love" (1x07) **"I Don't Wanna Know" (1x10) *''

'' **"A Distinctive Horn" (5x08)

References

External links

"Chris Offutt bio"
Lannan Foundation
Profile at The Whiting FoundationStuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Chris Offutt papers, circa 1980-2015
{{DEFAULTSORT:Offutt, Chris 1958 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American memoirists American male novelists Screenwriters from Iowa Grinnell College faculty Writers from Santa Monica, California Writers from Lexington, Kentucky University of Montana faculty University of New Mexico faculty Iowa Writers' Workshop faculty Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Television writers from California American male television writers American male short story writers American male screenwriters 20th-century American short story writers Screenwriters from Kentucky 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Kentucky Novelists from Iowa American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Montana Screenwriters from New Mexico Southern noir writers