Tara Ison (born 1964) is an American novelist, short story writer, and essayist. She is the author of three novels: ''Rockaway'' (

Soft Skull Press Counterpoint LLC was a publishing company that Perseus Books Group launched in 2007. It was formed from the consolidation of three presses: Perseus' Counterpoint Press, Shoemaker & Hoard, and Soft Skull Press. The company published books under b ...

, 2013), ''The List'' ( Scribner, 2007), and ''A Child out of Alcatraz'' (

Faber & Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

, 1997), which was a Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A collection of essays, ''Reeling Through Life: How I Learned To Live, Love & Die at the Movies'', was published by

in January 2015, and was the winner of the 2015 PEN Southwest Award for Creative Nonfiction. Her short story collection, ''Ball'', was published by

in Fall 2015. She received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 2020 in support of a short story collection tentatively titled "The Meat Bee," after her 2018 story published in ''Tin House''. Her most recent novel, At the Hour Between Dog and Wolf (IG Publishing) was published in 2023 and was a New York Times Editors' Choice recommendation.

Work

Ison received her MFA in Fiction & Literature from

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

, where she was a student of

Rick Moody Hiram Frederick Moody III (born October 18, 1961) is an American novelist and short story writer best known for the 1994 novel '' The Ice Storm'', a chronicle of the dissolution of two suburban Connecticut families over Thanksgiving weekend in 1 ...

. Institutions she has taught creative writing and screenwriting at include

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

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 ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

Goddard College Goddard College was a Private college, private college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle. The college offered undergraduate and graduate degree programs. With predecessor ins ...

and

Antioch University Los Angeles Antioch University Los Angeles (AULA) is a campus of Antioch University in Culver City, California. Background Antioch College was founded in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Horace Mann, Antioch College's first president's goal was to create an educatio ...

. In addition, she has taught

UC Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in ...

Palm Desert's MFA in Creative Writing program. Presently, she is a professor of English at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. She also is faculty of New England College's MFA program. Work by Ison has appeared in ''

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 ...

'',

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

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 ...

Electric Literature ''Electric Literature'' is an American literary magazine. History Founded by Andy Hunter and Scott Lindenbaum in 2009 as a print quarterly journal, ''Electric Literature'' transitioned to a daily website in 2012 under the helm of Halimah Ma ...

, ''

The Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ''T ...

'', ''

The Rumpus ''The Rumpus'' is an online literary magazine founded by Stephen Elliott (author), Stephen Elliott, and launched on January 20, 2009. The site features interviews, book reviews, essays, comics, and critiques of creative culture as well as origi ...

'', ''

Nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...

'', ''

Black Clock ''Black Clock'' was an American literary magazine that published twenty-one issues over twelve years. Edited by Steve Erickson, the magazine was "dedicated to fiction, poetry and creative essays that explore the frontier of constructive anarchy. ...

'', ''

TriQuarterly ''TriQuarterly'' is a name shared by an American literary magazine and a series of books. The journal is published twice a year under the aegis of the Northwestern University Department of English and features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama ...

'', ''The Santa Monica Review'', ''PMS: poemmemoirstory'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Week ''The Week'' is a weekly news magazine with editions in the United Kingdom and United States. The British publication was founded in 1995 and the American edition in 2001. An Australian edition was published from 2008 to 2012. A children's edi ...

'', ''The

Mississippi Review The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, master's, ...

'', ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'', the ''

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 ...

'', the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'', the ''

San Jose Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

'', and numerous anthologies. She is also the co-writer, with

Neil Landau Neil Landau is an American screenwriter, playwright, producer, and director. His film and television credits include the teen comedy ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'', ''Melrose Place'', ''The Magnificent Seven'', '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'', '' ...

, of the 1991 cult classic movie ''

Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead ''Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead'' is a 1991 American coming-of-age dark comedy film directed by Stephen Herek, written by Neil Landau and Tara Ison, and starring Christina Applegate, Joanna Cassidy, Keith Coogan, John Getz, and Josh Ch ...

''. The pair had originally written the script in 1987.

Awards and honors

Ison is the recipient of

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

Creative Writing Fellowships in 2020 and 2008, and a 2008 COLA Individual Artist Grant, as well as multiple

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

fellowships, a Rotary Foundation Scholarship for International Study, a Brandeis National Women's Committee Award, a

Thurber House Thurber House is a literary center for readers and writers located in Columbus, Ohio, in the historic former home of author, humorist, and ''New Yorker'' cartoonist James Thurber. Thurber House is dedicated to promoting the literary arts by pr ...

Fiction Writer-in-Residence Fellowship, the Simon Blattner Fellowship from Northwestern University, and a

California Arts Council The California Arts Council functions as a state agency headquartered in Sacramento, California. Its board comprises eight council members who receive appointments from both the Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and ...

Artists' Fellowship Award.

Books

* ''Ball: Stories'' * ''Reeling Through Life: How I Learned to Live, Love, and Die at the Movies Winner, 2015 PEN Southwest Award for Creative Nonfiction * ''A Child out of Alcatraz'' * ''The List'' * ''Rockaway'' * At the Hour Between Dog and Wolf

Screenwriting

Television

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ison, Tara Living people 1964 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American essayists 21st-century American essayists American women novelists American women short story writers American women essayists Antioch University faculty Arizona State University faculty Bennington College alumni Washington University in St. Louis faculty Northwestern University faculty Ohio State University faculty Goddard College faculty University of California, Riverside faculty Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Ohio Novelists from Missouri Novelists from Arizona Novelists from Vermont Screenwriting instructors