Steve Yarbrough (born August 29, 1956) is an American author and academic, who teaches at Emerson College.

Life

Born in

Indianola, Mississippi Indianola is a city in and the county seat of Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, in the Mississippi Delta. The population was 10,683 at the 2010 census. History On June 30, 1874 the town was surveyed and on April 14, 1885 an addition ...

, he received his B.A. and M.A. in English from the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

and his M.F.A. in creative writing from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

. Writing largely within the Southern tradition, he draws his themes and characters from Southern history and mores in ways that have been compared to

Flannery O'Connor Mary Flannery O'Connor (March 25, 1925August 3, 1964) was an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She wrote two novels and 31 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries. O'Connor was a Southern writer who of ...

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

, and

Willie Morris William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1934 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Morris had a lyrical prose style which he lent to reflections on the American ...

. Yarbrough's major works include the novels ''The Realm of Last Chances'' (2013), ''Safe From The Neighbors'' (2010), ''The End of California'' (2006), ''Prisoners of War'' (2004), ''Visible Spirits'' (2001) and ''The Oxygen Man'' (1999), as well as short story collections such as ''Family Men'' (1990), ''Mississippi History'' (1994) and ''Veneer'' (1998). ''The Realm of Last Chances'', his first novel set in New England, was published by Knopf 2013. It won the 2014 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Fiction. He is also the author of ''Bookmarked: Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show'' (2017), a nonfiction book describing Yarbrough's own journey to adulthood and becoming an author as it relates the titular novel's protagonist. Yarbrough's latest novel, ''The Unmade World'', was published by Unbridled Books in 2018. It won the 2019 Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction. His other honors include the Mississippi Authors Award, the

California Book Award The Commonwealth Club World Affairs of California is a non-profit, non-partisan educational organization based in Northern California. Founded in 1903, it is the oldest and largest public affairs forum in the United States. Membership is open to ...

, and the 2000 Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Award in Fiction. The short story "The Rest of Her Life" appeared in The Best American Short Stories 1999. His novel, ''Prisoners of War'', was a finalist for the 2005 PEN/Faulkner award.Noted b
USA Today
/ref> He has also won the 2010 Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence. His work has been translated into Dutch, Japanese and Polish and published in the United Kingdom. A professor of creative writing for many years at

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

, Yarbrough is currently a professor in the Department of Writing, Literature and Publishing at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It also maintains campuses in Los Angeles and Well, Limburg, Netherlands (Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of Public Speaking, o ...

in Boston.

Family

He is married to the Polish essayist and literary translator Ewa Hryniewicz-Yarbrough and they have two daughters, Antonina Parris-Yarbrough and Lena Yarbrough. He divides his time between Stoneham, Massachusetts, and Kraków.

Bibliography

*”Stay Gone Days,” (2022) *''The Unmade World'', (2018) , *''The Realm of Last Chances'' (2013) , * ''Safe From The Neighbors'' (2010) , * ''The End of California'' (2006) * ''Prisoners of War'' (2004) * ''Visible Spirits'' (2001) , * ''The Oxygen Man'' (1999) ; Short story collections * ''Family Men'' (1990) , * ''Mississippi History'' (1994) * ''Veneer'' (1998. , * ''Stay Gone Days'' (2022) ; Non-fiction * ''Bookmarked: Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show'' (2017) ,

References

1956 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists People from Indianola, Mississippi PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from Mississippi 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers American male short story writers University of Mississippi alumni University of Arkansas alumni California State University, Fresno faculty Emerson College faculty {{US-novelist-1950s-stub