Rebecca Makkai (born April 20, 1978) is an American novelist and short story writer. She is best known for writing '' The Great Believers'' (2018) and '' I Have Some Questions for You'' (2023), which have been positively received by critics and won awards such as the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize for Fiction, the

Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction __NOTOC__ The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for adult readers published in the U.S. in the previous year. They are named in honor of ni ...

, and the Libby Book Award.

Early life and education

Makkai grew up in

Lake Bluff, Illinois Lake Bluff (formerly Rockland) is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 5,616. History The first settler family to claim land within the area now part of Lake Bluf ...

. She is the daughter of linguistics professors Valerie Becker Makkai and , a refugee to the US following the

1956 Hungarian Revolution The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 4 November 1956; ), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by ...

. Her paternal grandmother, , was an actress and novelist in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. Her paternal grandfather, , was a journalist and politician and, as a member of the Hungarian Parliament, was principal parliamentary author of Hungary's Second Jewish Law of 1939, before revising his views and being imprisoned by the Gestapo. His problematic legacy is a topic on which Makkai has written extensively in both fiction and essay form. Makkai graduated from

Lake Forest Academy Lake Forest Academy (also known as LFA) is a co-educational college preparatory school for boarding and day students in grades 9 through 12. The school is located on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore in Lake Forest, Illinois, United States ...

and attended

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

where she graduated with a B.A. in English. She later earned a master's degree from

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalists, Middlebury w ...

Bread Loaf School of English Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, United States. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. In the fall of 2024, the college enrolled 2, ...

Career

Writing

Makkai's debut novel, ''The Borrower'', was released in June 2011. It was a ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

'' Top Ten Debut, an Indie Next pick, an ''

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 ...

'' selection, and one of ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's'' choices for best fiction of 2011. It was translated into twelve languages. Her second novel, ''The Hundred-Year House'', is set in the Northern suburbs of Chicago, and was published by

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

in July 2014. It received starred reviews in ''

'', ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

''. The book won the 2015 Novel of the Year award from the Chicago Writers Association and was named a best book of 2014 by BookPage. Makkai's third novel, '' The Great Believers'', is set during the

AIDS epidemic The global pandemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2023, HIV/AIDS ...

in 1980s Chicago and was published by Viking/Penguin Random House in June 2018. ''The Great Believers'' won the 2019

and was a finalist for the 2018

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 ...

. It was also a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, and won the ''Los Angeles Times'' Book Prize, the ALA Stonewall Award, and the Chicago Review of Books Award. In 2024, ''

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 ...

'' ranked '' The Great Believers'' one of "The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century". The novel was also ranked at number 28 in the related "Readers Pick" list. Makkai's fourth novel, '' I Have Some Questions for You'', was published by Viking in February 2023, and it debuted at number three on the New York Times Bestseller List. Makkai's debut short story collection, ''Music for Wartime'', was published by Viking in June 2015. A starred and featured review in ''Publishers Weekly'' said, "Though these stories alternate in time between WWII and the present day, they all are set, as described in the story "Exposition", within "the borders of the human heart"—a terrain that their author maps uncommonly well." ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' wrote that "if any short story writer can be considered a rock star of the genre, it's Rebecca Makkai." Her short stories have been anthologized in ''

The Best American Short Stories ''The Best American Short Stories'' is a yearly anthology that's part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the ''BASS'' has anthologized more than 2,000 short stories, including works by some of the ...

'' 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 and as well as in '' The Best American Nonrequired Reading'' 2009 and 2016; she received a 2017

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 ...

, a 2014 NEA Creative Writing Fellowship (worth ), and a 2022

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. Makkai's fiction has also appeared in ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Threepenny Review ''The Threepenny Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1980. It is published in Berkeley, California, by founding editor Wendy Lesser. Maintaining a quarterly schedule (March, June, September, December), it offers fiction, memoirs ...

'', ''

New England Review The ''New England Review'' is an American quarterly literary magazine published by Middlebury College Middlebury College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont, ...

'', and '' Shenandoah''. Her nonfiction has appeared in ''

Harpers Harpers may refer to: * Harpers, popular misnomer for ''Harper's Magazine'', American monthly magazine * ''Harper's Bazaar'', monthly American fashion magazine * ''Harpers Wine & Spirit'', formerly ''Harpers Magazine'' (since 1878), British trade ...

,''

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

, and ''The'' ''New Yorker''. Makkai's stories have also been featured on

Public Radio International Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States. PRI was one of the main providers of programmi ...

's ''

Selected Shorts Selected Shorts is an event at New York's Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, in which screen and stage actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience. The stage show began in 1985 and continues today at Symphony Space's Pete ...

'' and ''

This American Life ''This American Life'' is a weekly hour-long American radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internationally, and is ...

.''

Teaching

Makkai has taught at the

Iowa Writers' Workshop The Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa, is a graduate-level creative writing program. At 89 years, it is the oldest writing program offering a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree in the United States. Its acceptance rate is between 2 ...

and is on the MFA faculties of

Bennington College Bennington College is a private liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont, United States. Founded as a women’s college in 1932,

and

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. She is the artistic director of StoryStudio Chicago. Makkai has also taught at

Lake Forest College Lake Forest College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lake Forest, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Lind University by a group of Presbyterian ministers, the college has been coeducatio ...

and held the Mackey Chair in Creative Writing at

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1846 when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It has an enrollment of roughly 1,000 undergradua ...

in Wisconsin.

Personal life

She has two children and lives in

Lake Forest, Illinois Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and t ...

. She met her husband, Jon Freeman, at Bread Loaf.

Awards and honors

Bibliography

Novels

* ''The Borrower'' (2011'','' Viking) * ''The Hundred-Year House'' (2014'','' Viking) * '' The Great Believers'' (2018'','' Viking) * '' I Have Some Questions for You'' (2023'','' Viking)

Short story collections

* ''Music for Wartime'' (2015'','' Viking)

References

External links

*
REVIEW: The Hundred Year House by Rebecca Makkai
at Upcoming4.me * {{DEFAULTSORT:Makkai, Rebecca 1978 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers American women novelists American people of Hungarian descent Novelists from Chicago Lake Forest Academy alumni Washington and Lee University alumni Middlebury College alumni 21st-century American women writers People from Lake Bluff, Illinois People from Lake Forest, Illinois Stonewall Book Award winners American women short story writers