Leigh Newman (born May 15, 1971)Aspen Matis

The Open Bar,

Tin House ''Tin House'' is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon, and New York City. History Portland publisher Win McCormack originally conceived the idea for a literary magazine called ''Tin House'' in the summer ...

Blog, April 22, 2013. is an American writer. Her story collection about Alaskan women ''Nobody Gets Out Alive'' was long-listed for the

National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

and the Story Prize. Her memoir , ''Still Points North'', was a finalist for the

National Book Critics Circle The National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) is an American nonprofit organization (501(c) organization, 501(c)(3)) with more than 700 members. It is the professional association of American book review editors and critics, known primarily for the N ...

's John Leonard First Book Prize.

Personal life

Newman grew up in

Anchorage Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...

, Alaska and

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, Maryland, traveling between the homes of her two parents. Her childhood and remote wilderness experiences were the basis of her memoir ''Still Points North'' (Dial Press, 2013). She received her B.A. from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 1993 and her MFA from the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

in 2006.

Career

After working primarily in nonfiction, with articles and essays 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 ...

'', ''Vogue'', ''Oprah.com,'' ''

O, The Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst rebranded it as ''Oprah Daily''. Overview It was first pu ...

'' and ''

Bookforum ''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. After announcing that it would cease publication in December 2022, it reported its relaunch under the direction of ''The Nation'' magazine six mo ...

,'' she turned to fiction. Her short stories have appeared in '' Harper’s'', ''

The Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published new works by Jack Kerouac, ...

,'' ''

One Story ''One Story'' is a literary magazine which publishes 12 issues a year, each issue containing a single short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained inciden ...

'',''

'', and '' McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern'' among other magazines. In 2020, her work was recognized in the Best American Short Stories, the

Pushcart Prize The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize published by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are ...

, The American Society of Magazine Editor's fiction prize for work in the ''Paris Review'', as well awarded the Terry Southern Prize for “humor, wit, and ''sprezzatura''" at the ''Paris Review.'' Newman has received fiction fellowships from the

, the

Atlantic Center for the Arts Atlantic Center for the Arts (ACA) is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary artists' community and education facility located in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. The complex was designed by the Boston-based firm Thompson and Rose Architects. Atlantic Center ...

and the Corporation of

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

."2007 Summer Residency Fellows,"
The Edward F. Albee Foundation, 2007. In 2014, she was a

Bread Loaf Writers' Conference The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most ...

Fellow."Authors, novelists, and poets to gather at Bread Loaf Writers' Conference."
Middlebury College, 2014.

Bibliography

Story Collection: *
Nobody Gets Out Alive: Stories
' (2022, Scribner/Simon and Schuster)

Memoir

* ''Still Points North'' (2013,

Dial Press The Dial Press is a publishing house founded in 1923 by Lincoln MacVeagh. The Dial Press shared a building with ''The Dial'' and Scofield Thayer worked with both. The first imprint was issued in 1924. Authors included Elizabeth Bowen, W. R. Bur ...

)

Collections

* ''Nobody Gets Out Alive: Stories'' (2022
Simon and Schuster)
* ''The Collected Traveler'' book series (2009, Crown) * ''My Parents Were Awesome'' (2011, Villard) * ''One Ring Zero’s The Recipe Project'' (2011, Black Balloon) - co-editor

References

External links

Official website

Official ''Still Points North'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Leigh 1971 births Living people American essayists American short story writers Stanford University alumni University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni American women essayists 21st-century American women