Allen Kurzweil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Allen Kurzweil
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Kurzweil
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| Born | December 16, 1960 |
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| Nationality | American, French |
| Alma mater | Aiglon College Yale University University of Rome |
| Notable works | A Case of Curiosities, Leon and the Spitting Image, Whipping Boy |
Allen Kurzweil, born on December 16, 1960, is an American writer. He writes novels, works as a journalist, and teaches. He has written four fiction books, including A Case of Curiosities. He also wrote a true story about his life called Whipping Boy. With his son Max, he helped create Potato Chip Science. This is a fun science kit for kids that uses potato chips for experiments! Allen Kurzweil is related to famous inventor Ray Kurzweil.
Contents
About Allen Kurzweil's Life
Early Life and Education
Allen Kurzweil grew up in both Europe and the United States. His parents were refugees from Vienna, Austria. He went to school at Aiglon College, a boarding school in Switzerland. Later, he studied at Yale University in the U.S. and the University of Rome in Italy.
His Career as a Writer
Before becoming a full-time writer, Kurzweil worked as a journalist. He spent ten years reporting from France, Italy, and Australia. After that, he moved to the United States.
His first novel, A Case of Curiosities, was published in 1992. This book won awards in England, Ireland, Italy, and France. His second novel, The Grand Complication, came out in 2001. Both of these books were listed by The New York Times as important books of the year.
Allen Kurzweil has also written books for children. These include Leon and the Spitting Image (2003) and Leon and the Champion Chip (2005). In 2015, he published Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully. This book, which tells a true story from his life, won an Edgar Award.
Writing for Newspapers and Magazines
As a journalist, Kurzweil has written for many well-known publications. His articles and reviews have appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian, and New Yorker magazine.
Besides writing, he also works as a freelance editor. He teaches writing classes and workshops to students and other writers.
Awards and Special Honors
Allen Kurzweil has received many special honors and awards for his work. These include fellowships from important organizations. A fellowship is like a grant that helps a writer or scholar focus on their work.
He has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Fulbright Program. He also got a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. These awards show that his writing is highly valued.
His novel A Case of Curiosities was a finalist for the Prix Médicis. This is a major literary award in France. It also won the Premio Grinzane Cavour in Italy in 1993. In 1996, he was named one of Granta's Best Young American Novelists.
His memoir, Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully, won an Edgar Award in 2016. This award is given for excellent mystery, crime, and suspense writing.
