Lynn Freed (18 July 1945 – 9 May 2025) was a South African-born writer known for her work as a novelist, essayist, and writer of short stories. Freed was awarded the inaugural Katherine Anne Porter Award in fiction by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as numerous other prizes and honors. Her fellow author Anne Lamott described her as "a beautiful writer, dead-on brilliant, rich in humor, possessing a dark and comforting wisdom."

Life

Lynn Freed was born and grew up in

Durban, South Africa Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay o ...

. She came to

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 ...

as a graduate student, receiving her M.A. and Ph.D. in English literature from

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 ...

. After moving to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, she wrote her first novel, ''Heart Change'' (republished as ''Friends of the Family''). She published six other novels: ''Home Ground'', ''The Bungalow'', ''The Mirror'', ''House of Women'', ''The Servants' Quarters'' and ''The Last Laugh''. She additionally published a collection of short stories, ''The Curse of the Appropriate Man'' and two collections of essays: ''Reading, Writing & Leaving Home: Life on the Page'' and ''The Romance of Elsewhere''. Freed's short fiction and essays appeared in ''

Harper's ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Ploughshares ''Ploughshares'' is an American literary journal established in 1971 by DeWitt Henry and Peter O'Malley in The Plough and Stars, an Irish pub in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Since 1989, ''Ploughshares'' has been based at Emerson College in Bost ...

'', ''

Southwest Review The ''Southwest Review'' is a literary journal published quarterly at Southern Methodist University campus in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1915 as the ''Texas Review'', it is the third oldest literary quarterly in the United States. The current ed ...

'', '' Michigan Quarterly Review'', '' The Santa Monica Review'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'', ''

Mirabella ''Mirabella'' was a women's magazine published from June 1989 to April 2000. It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former '' Vogue'' editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch. It was originally published by News Corpora ...

'', ''

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'', ''

House Beautiful ''House Beautiful'' is an interior decorating magazine that focuses on decorating and the domestic arts. First published in 1896, it is currently published by the Hearst Corporation, who began publishing it in 1934. It is the oldest still-publi ...

'', '' House & Garden'', ''

Travel & Leisure ''Travel + Leisure'' is a travel magazine based in New York City, New York (state), New York. Published 12 times a year, it has 4.8 million readers, according to its corporate media kit. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC ( ...

'' and ''

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'', among others. Her work is widely translated, and is included in a number of anthologies. In 2011, Freed won an O. Henry Award for her short story, "Sunshine" (included in The O. Henry Prize Stories 2011), and, in 2015, another for “The Way Things Are Going” (included in The O. Henry Prize Stories, 2015). In 2012, her essay, "Keeping Watch", was included in ''Best American Travel Writing''. She won the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The Association of Bay Area Governments ...

Book Reviewers' Award for Fiction (''Home Ground''), and subsequently had four books nominated for the same award. Most of her books appeared on ''The New York Times'' "Notable Books of the Year" list as well as on its "New & Noteworthy Paperback" list, as well as on the lists of ''The Washington Post'', the ''

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

'' and other journals. In 2002, Freed was awarded the inaugural Katherine Anne Porter Award in fiction by the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, Music of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...

. She has received grants and fellowships from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

and the Guggenheim Foundation, and been awarded residencies and fellowships supported by the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

, the Camargo Foundation, the

Lannan Foundation The Lannan Literary Awards are a series of awards and literary fellowships given out in various fields by the Lannan Foundation. Established in 1989, the awards are meant "to honor both established and emerging writers whose work is of exceptional ...

, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Bogliasco Foundation, Civitella Ranieri, 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 ...

, and the

MacDowell Colony MacDowell is an artist's residency program in Peterborough, New Hampshire. The program was founded in 1907 by composer Edward MacDowell and his wife, pianist and philanthropist Marian MacDowell. Prior to July 2020, it was known as the MacDo ...

, among others. Freed was a professor of english at the

University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

(UC Davis). Freed died of lymphoma at her home in Sonoma, California, on 9 May 2025.

Awards

In 2002, Lynn Freed received the inaugural Katherine Anne Porter Award for Fiction from the

. She has also received fellowships, grants and support from the

, Th
Guggenheim Foundation
The Camargo Foundation, The

, and the

, and the Bogliasc
Foundation
In 1986, she won the Bay Area Book Reviewers' Award for Fiction, and her short fiction has been recommended in "Best American Short Stories" and the "O'Henry Awards: Prize Stories". In 2011 she won the PEN/O. Henry Prize for her short story "Sunshine," originally published in Narrative Magazine, and, in 2015 she won the PEN/O. Henry Prize for her short story, "The Way Things Are Going", originally published in Harper's Magazine.

Works

* "The Romance of Elsewhere" (2017) * "The Last Laugh" (2017) * "The Servants' Quarters" (2009) * "Reading, Writing & Leaving Home: Life on the Page" (2005) * "The Curse of the Appropriate Man, Stories" (2004) * "House of Women" (2002) * "The Mirror" (1997) * ''The Bungalow'' (1993) * ''Home Ground'' (1986) * ''Friends of the Family'' (first published as ''Heart Change'', 1982)

References

External links

Official webpageUC Davis academic profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freed, Lynn Writers from Durban South African women novelists University of California, Davis faculty South African women short story writers South African short story writers O. Henry Award winners