__NOTOC__ Hannah Pittard is an American novelist and author of short stories.

Early life and education

Pittard was raised in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. She attended

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy (often called Deerfield or DA) is an Independent school, independent College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding and day school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schoo ...

in Massachusetts, where she received praise for her creative writing. She earned a bachelor's degree from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in 2001 and a Master of Fine Arts from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 2007. She currently works at the University of Kentucky in Lexington KY. Her literary influences include Southern authors

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. O'Connor was a Southern writer who of ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

, and

Harry Crews Harry Eugene Crews (June 7, 1935 – March 28, 2012) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He often made use of violent, grotesque characters and set them in regions of the Deep South. Life Harry Crews was born June 7, 1 ...

Career

Pittard's first novel, ''The Fates Will Find Their Way'', follows a group of boys from adolescence through middle age as they react to and speculate about a peer's mysterious disappearance. It was favorably reviewed by ''The New York Times Book Review'' and ''The Guardian''. Pittard said that she had aimed to capture a "universal ... feeling and experience" of nostalgia. Her second novel, ''Reunion'', an editor's choice by the ''

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'', examines the lives and relationships of adult siblings in the immediate aftermath of their father's unexpected suicide. ''Listen to Me'' looks at personal and marital struggles of a wife and husband as they make a cross-country road trip. Pittard's short stories have appeared in ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. Pittard's 2018 novel, ''Visible Empire,'' is loosely based on true events. It is the fictionalized aftermath of the 1962 Air France Flight 007 accident, which exploded on the runway, killing 130 of the 132 people on board. More than one hundred members of the Atlanta Art Association died.

Works

* ''The Fates Will Find Their Way'' (2011) * ''Reunion'' (2014) * ''Listen to Me'' (2016) * ''Visible Empire'' (2018) * ''We Are Too Many'' (2023)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pittard, Hannah 21st-century American novelists American women novelists University of Chicago alumni University of Virginia alumni Deerfield Academy alumni Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) Living people 21st-century American women writers Year of birth missing (living people)