Darren DeFrain (born June 15, 1967) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

who writes

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

short fiction 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

essay An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

Life and education

Darren DeFrain was born June 15, 1967, in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a Municipal home rule, home rule city and the county seat, borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior Alaska, interior region of Alaska and the second la ...

. He received a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in English, B.S. in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

, and a minor in Italian from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

in 1989, an M.A. from

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

in 1992, MFA from

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing from

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

in 2000. He lives in Wichita.

Career

Darren DeFrain is the author of two books of fiction. His novel ''The Salt Palace'' (2005) was nominated for several best-of-the-year lists including ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

''. This heavily footnoted, postmodern work, sometimes described as a

cult novel Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...

, examines the histories of the

LDS LDS may refer to: Organizations Religion * Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups **The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within the Latter Day Saint movement * Latvijas ...

church, the state of

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, and the Utah Jazz basketball franchise against the story of Brian Peterson and a one-armed hitchhiker as they attempt a dangerous series of road games on their way from Michigan to Utah. DeFrain’s collection of short fiction, ''Inside & Out: Stories'', debuted in 2009 and was praised by MacArthur Fellow

Stuart Dybek Stuart Dybek (born April 10, 1942) is an American writer of fiction and poetry. Biography Dybek, a second-generation Polish American, was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Chicago's Little Village and Pilsen neighborhoods in the 1950s ...

, and Rea award winner

Antonya Nelson Antonya Nelson (born January 6, 1961) is an American author and teacher of creative writing who writes primarily short stories. Life and education Antonya Nelson was born January 6, 1961, in Wichita, Kansas. She received a BA degree from the U ...

. DeFrain has been on faculty at Wichita State University since 2005 and is currently associate professor.Darren DeFrain
at the Wichita State University official website.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defrain, Darren 1967 births Living people 21st-century American novelists Writers from Fairbanks, Alaska University of Utah alumni Kansas State University alumni Western Michigan University alumni Writers from Wichita, Kansas American postmodern writers American male novelists American male essayists American male short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American male writers