Mischa Berlinski (born 1973 in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States) is an American

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. His first novel, ''

Fieldwork Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct f ...

'', was a finalist for the 2007

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. ...

. In 2008 Berlinski won a $50,000

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, ...

, given to writers showing early promise in their careers.

Life

Berlinski is the son of author and academic

David Berlinski David Berlinski (born 1942) is an American mathematician and philosopher. He has written books about mathematics and the history of science as well as fiction. An opponent of evolution, he is a senior fellow of the Discovery Institute's Center f ...

and cellist

Toby Saks Toby Saks (January 8, 1942 – August 1, 2013) was an American cellist, the founder of the Seattle Chamber Music Society and a member of the New York Philharmonic. Music history Born in New York City to an immigrant family, Saks began music less ...

, the grandson of composer and musicologist

Herman Berlinski Herman Berlinski (18 August 1910 – 27 September 2001) was a German-born American composer, organist, pianist, Musicology, musicologist and choir conducting, conductor. Life Family background; early upbringing Before he was born, Herman Berlins ...

, and the brother of journalist

Claire Berlinski Claire Berlinski (born 1968) is an American journalist and author. Personal life Born and raised in California and other parts of the United States, including New York City and Seattle, she read Modern History at Balliol College, Oxford, where ...

. Berlinski is a

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

graduate, and has worked as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

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 ...

Tim Rutten Timothy Calder Rutten (April 8, 1950 – September 8, 2022) was an American journalist with the ''Los Angeles Daily News''. He worked for the ''Los Angeles Times'' for nearly 40 years between 1971 and 2011. Rutten was married to Leslie Abramson ...

"Faith and Reason in Thailand"
''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', February 7, 2007;

Awards

* 2007

Fiction Finalist * 2008

* 2013

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 ...

’ Addison M. Metcalf Award

Works

Books

* ''

'', (

Farrar, Straus & Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

) 2007 * ''Peacekeeping: A Novel'', Sarah Crichton Books, 2016

Articles

* * (Reprinted online by Epic Magazine)

Reviews

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

reviewed ''Fieldwork'' for ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

''. While King lauds the novel's complexity, "narrative voice full of humor and sadness," and suspense, he criticizes the book's publisher,

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer P ...

, for poor marketing choices: King's review resulted in increased sales of ''Fieldwork.'' When Berlinski won the Whiting Award, he attributed it to his "luck" that "Stephen King, the most famous writer in the world, picked up my book because he didn't like the cover." In 2007, ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'' published a positive review of ''Fieldwork'' from

Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...

References

External links

Profile at The Whiting Foundation
* ttp://www.nybooks.com/articles/23657 Port-au-Prince: The Momentby Mischa Berlinski from ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Berlinski, Mischa 1973 births Living people 21st-century American novelists American people of German-Jewish descent Jewish American novelists University of California, Berkeley alumni Novelists from New York City American male novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers 21st-century American Jews Berlinski family