Samantha Hunt (born May 15, 1971) is an American novelist, essayist and short-story writer. She is the author of ''The Dark Dark'' and ''The Unwritten Book'', published by Farrar, Straus, Giroux; ''The Seas'', published by MacAdam/Cage and Tin House; and the novels ''Mr. Splitfoot'' and '' The Invention of Everything Else'', published by

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Company ( ; HMH) is an American publisher of textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, and reference works. The company is based in the Financial District, Boston, Boston Financial District. It was fo ...

Early life

Hunt was born the youngest of six children in 1971. Her father was an editor, her mother is a painter. She moved in 1989 to attend the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

, where she studied literature, printmaking and geology. She received her MFA from

Warren Wilson College Warren Wilson College (WWC) is a private liberal arts college in Swannanoa, North Carolina. It is known for its curriculum that combines academics, work, and service as every student must complete a required course of study, work an on-campus j ...

, before moving to New York City in 1999.

Career

Books

Hunt's debut novel, ''The Seas'', first published in 2004, is a magical-realist novel about a young girl in a Northern town who believes herself to be a mermaid. The book was voted one of the ''Village Voice'' Literary Supplement's Favorite Books of 2004, and won the

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: ...

award for 5 Under 35 in 2006. In 2018, ''The Seas'' was republished by Tin House Books in 2018 with a foreword by Maggie Nelson. In 2008, she published her second novel, '' The Invention of Everything Else'' through

. The novel provides a fictionalized account of the final days of inventor

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

. It won both the Bard Fiction Prize in 2010, and was shortlisted for the

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–2012), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017) is one of the United Kingdom's ...

. Her other novels include ''Mr. Splitfoot (2016)'', a ghost story, and ''The Dark Dark: Stories'' (2017), a collection of short stories. Hunt's short stories and essays have 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 ...

'', ''

New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazin ...

'', ''

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''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 185 ...

'', '' A Public Space'', '' Cabinet'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'', '' The Believer'', ''Blind Spot'', ''Harper’s Bazaar'', ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', ''

Seed Magazine ''Seed'' (subtitled ''Science Is Culture''; originally ''Beneath the Surface'') is a defunct online science magazine published by Seed Media Group. The magazine looked at big ideas in science, important issues at the intersection of science and ...

'', '' Tin House'', ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'', on the radio program ''

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 ...

'' and in a number of anthologies including ''Trampoline'' edited by

Kelly Link Kelly Link (born July 19, 1969) is an American editor and writer. Mainly known as an author of short stories, she published her first novel, ''The Book of Love'' in 2024. While some of her fiction falls more clearly within genre categories, many ...

. Hunt's play, ''The Difference Engine'', a story about the life of

Charles Babbage Charles Babbage (; 26 December 1791 – 18 October 1871) was an English polymath. A mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer, Babbage originated the concept of a digital programmable computer. Babbage is considered ...

, was produced by the Theater of a Two-Headed Calf.

Awards

Hunt won the Bard Fiction Prize, the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 award, the

St. Francis College Literary Prize The St. Francis College Literary Prize is a biennial literary award inaugurated in 2009. The prize of is presented to an author in honor of a third to fifth book of fiction and is meant to offer encouragement and significant financial support to a ...

and was a finalist for the

. In 2017, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship for fiction.

Literary influences

Hunt's credits her experiences growing up one of six children for her interest in literature, her dialogue, and her fictional portrayals of motherhood.

Profession

Hunt is a professor of writing at the

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

Bibliography

Books

* ''The Unwritten Book'' (2022) * ''The Dark Dark: Stories'' (2017) * ''Mr Splitfoot'' (2016) * '' The Invention of Everything Else'' (2008)
Reading at Google
' *
The Seas
' (2004) * ''My Inventions and Other Writings'' by

Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla (;"Tesla"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 10 July 1856 – 7 ...

and Samantha Hunt (introduction - 2011)

Online texts

Short stories

* "A Love Story", ''The New Yorker'', 22 May 2017 * "The Yellow", ''The New Yorker'', 21 November 2010 * "Three Days"'', The New Yorker'', 8 January 2016 * "Go Team"'', The Atlantic'', March 2020

Essays

* "There Is Only One Direction", ''New York Magazine'', 12 May 2015 * "Queer Theorem", ''

Lapham's Quarterly ''Lapham's Quarterly'' is a literary magazine established in 2007 by former ''Harper's Magazine'' editor Lewis H. Lapham. Each issue examines a theme using primary source material from history. The inaugural issue "States of War" contained doze ...

'', Vol. 10, No. 2, Spring 2017 * "Terrible Twins"'',

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

'', 1 April 2011 * "Swiss Near-Miss", ''

'', 11 June 2014 * "A Brief History of Books That Do Not Exist", Lithub, 4 January 2016

References

External links

*''

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 ...

'
Interview
at Bookslut *Interview on th
Bat Segundo Show
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Samantha 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American short story writers 21st-century American women writers 1971 births American women essayists American women novelists Living people