Leo E. Litwak (May 28, 1924 – July 27, 2018) was an American

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 incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

writer and novelist.

Life

He attended

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. He taught at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1899 as the San Francisco State Normal School and is ...

. He was a medic in World War II, which was the subject of his 2001 memoir, ''The Medic: Life and Death in the Last Days of WWII''. His work appeared 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 ...

and

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books. The journal is published twice a year under the aegis of the Northwestern University Department of English and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama ...

''. His papers are held at

Washington University Libraries Washington University Libraries is the library system of Washington University in St. Louis. The Washington University Libraries are a powerful network of academic resources featuring 9 University Libraries (7 locations on the Danforth Campus, on ...

. Litwak's daughter is playwright and actress Jessica Litwak. He has two grand children, Emil Weinstein and Sophia Litwak. He was the son of union leader Isaac Litwak, whose life was the basis of Leo Litwak's novel, ''Waiting for the News''.

Awards

* 1970

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

* 1970

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

for ''Waiting for the News'' * 1990 O. Henry Award

Works

* "The Eleventh Edition" ''TriQuarterly'', No. 74, Winter 1989

Novels

* ''To the Hanging Gardens'' (1964) Andre Deutsch * ''Waiting for the News'' (1969)

Non-fiction

* ''College Days in Earthquake Country'' (1971) * ''Medic'' 2001

Anthologies

* * *

Criticism

* * *

References

External links

"Leo Litwak Recreates The Medic", The San Francisco Reader'', Jerry Karp
{{DEFAULTSORT:Litwak, Leo E. 1924 births 2018 deaths American short story writers Wayne State University alumni Columbia University alumni San Francisco State University faculty O. Henry Award winners