Tadzio Koelb (English: /taːdʐʉ kœlb/; born 1971) is an American
novelist,
translator, and
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governmen ...
.
Career
Koelb's first novel, ''Trenton Makes'', appeared in March 2018. It received favorable reviews in the ''
New York Times Book Review
''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
'' and the ''
Financial Times''. The
Center for Fiction shortlisted the novel for the 2018
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize __NOTOC__
The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize is an annual award presented by The Center for Fiction, a non-profit organization in New York City, for the best debut novel. From 2006 to 2011, it was called the John Sargent, Sr. First Novel Pri ...
. The French translation of the novel was long listed for the
Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine Grand Prix de Littérature Américaine (''American Literature Grand Prize'') is a French literary award given each year to an American novel translated into French and published in that year starting January 1. The first award was in 2015. The award ...
and shortlisted for the Prix du roman PAGE.
In addition to fiction, Koelb has published
criticism
Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''"the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the good or bad q ...
and reviews on
literature and
the arts in a wide variety of publications on both sides of the
Atlantic, including the ''
New York Times'', the ''
New Statesman'', ''
The Guardian'', ''
Art in America
''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...
'', and the ''
Times Literary Supplement''.
His short critical biography of
Lawrence Durrell appeared as part of
Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...
British Writers series, edited by
Jay Parini. In 2015 Koelb published ''Morasses'', a
translation of
André Gide’s novel
''Paludes''.
Biography
Born in
Washington, D.C., Koelb grew up in
Brooklyn until the age of 12, when his family moved to
Brussels,
Belgium. He studied
painting in
Paris,
France, and
Barcelona,
Spain, before earning his
Master's in creative writing from the
University of East Anglia in the
UK. Traveling with his wife, a
public health specialist and
midwife, he has lived in a number of other countries, including
Uzbekistan,
Tunisia,
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
, and
Madagascar. In 2016, he served as a campaign writer for
Misty K. Snow, the first
transgender candidate for the
US Senate.
Bibliography
*''British writers. Retrospective supplement'', Charles Scribner's Sons, 2002
*''Morasses'', Calypso Editions, 2015
*''Trenton Makes'',
Doubleday, 2018
References
External links
*
Profile at Penguin Random House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koelb, Tadzio
Parsons School of Design alumni
Jewish American novelists
Living people
Belgian writers
1971 births
Alumni of the University of East Anglia
21st-century American Jews