Lily Tuck (born October 10, 1938) is an

American novelist This is a list of novelists from the United States, listed with titles of a major work for each. This is not intended to be a list of every American (born U.S. citizen, naturalized citizen, or long-time resident alien) who has published a novel. ...

and short story writer whose novel ''

The News from Paraguay ''The News from Paraguay: A Novel'' is 2004 novel by Lily Tuck and was the National Book Award winner for fiction. It is a historical novel set in 19th century Paraguay, and explores the life of an Irish courtesan, Eliza Lynch, as she courts the ...

'' won the 2004

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987, the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, bu ...

."National Book Awards – 2004"

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established with the goal "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America." Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: ...

. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
(With blurb linked to her name and essay by Harold Augenbraum from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) Her 2008 biography ''Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante'' won the Premio Elsa Morante. Her novel ''Siam'' was nominated for the 2000

PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living Americans, Green Card holders or permanent residents. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of ...

. She is a

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 ...

. She has published five other novels, two collections of short stories, as well as her biography of Italian novelist

Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 1912 – 25 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel '' La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. L ...

Life

An American citizen born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Tuck now divides her time between

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Islesboro, Maine Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States, comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands. The population was 583 at the 2020 census. It has a summer colony accessible by state ferry service from Lincolnville Beach ...

; she has also lived in

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

and (during her childhood)

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. Tuck has stated that "living in other countries has given me a different perspective as a writer. It has heightened my sense of dislocation and rootlessness. ... I think this feeling is reflected in my characters, most of them women whose lives are changed by either a physical displacement or a loss of some kind". In her 2011 novel, ''I Married You for Happiness'', Tuck explored an unhappy marriage. She explained at the time of its publication that while the book was not autobiographical it had resonance with her first marriage. She stated "In the '60s, I was married to a strong, charismatic person and he took over my life completely". Her second marriage was happier and upon the loss of her second husband, Edward, her grief was such that she was unable to write fiction and instead wrote the biography ''Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante'' which won the Premio Elsa Morante.

Works

Novels *''The Rest is Memory.'' New York: Liveright, 2024. *''Sisters.'' New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2017. *'' The Double Life of Liliane.'' New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2015. *'' I Married You For Happiness.'' New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2011. *''

.'' New York: HarperCollins, 2004. *'' Siam, or the Woman Who Shot a Man.'' New York: Overlook Press, 1999. *'' The Woman Who Walked on Water''. New York: Riverhead Books, 1996. *'' Interviewing Matisse or the Woman Who Died Standing Up.'' New York: Knopf, 1991. Short Stories *''Heathcliff Redux and Other Stories.'' New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, Feb. 4, 2020. *''The House at Belle Fontaine: Stories.'' New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013. *''Limbo, and Other Places I Have Lived.'' New York: Harper Perennial, 2002. Biography * ''Woman of Rome: A Life of Elsa Morante.'' New York: HarperCollins, 2008.

References

External links

Chapter One of ''The News from Paraguay''

Author Bio, Photo, and National Book Award Acceptance Speech

National Public Radio ''All Things Considered'' interview with Tuck (audio file)

Charlie Rose interview with Lily Tuck and 2004 National Book Award Finalists (video file)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuck, Lily 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American women novelists 1939 births Living people National Book Award winners American women short story writers 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners Radcliffe College alumni