Ann Patchett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ann Patchett
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Patchett speaks during the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington D.C.
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| Born | December 2, 1963 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | |
| Education | Sarah Lawrence College (BA) University of Iowa (MFA) |
| Period | 1992–present |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Notable works | Bel Canto |
Ann Patchett (born December 2, 1963) is a famous American writer. She writes many kinds of books, including novels and memoirs. In 2002, she won two big awards, the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize for Fiction. She won these for her novel Bel Canto.
Ann Patchett has written many other popular novels. These include The Patron Saint of Liars (1992), Taft (1994), and The Magician's Assistant (1997). More recent books are Run (2007), State of Wonder (2011), and Commonwealth (2016). Her novel The Dutch House (2019) was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2020. Her latest novel, Tom Lake, was published in 2023.
Contents
About Ann Patchett's Life
Ann Patchett was born in Los Angeles, California, on December 2, 1963. Her parents were Frank Patchett and Jeanne Ray. She has one older sister. When Ann was young, her parents divorced.
When Ann was six years old, her family moved to Nashville. She went to St. Bernard Academy, a private Catholic school for girls in Nashville. After high school, she studied at Sarah Lawrence College in New York.
College and Early Career
After college, Ann Patchett went to the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. This is a famous program for writers. While there, she lived with her friend, the writer Lucy Grealy. Ann later wrote a memoir about their friendship called Truth & Beauty (2004).
In her twenties, Ann Patchett won a special writing fellowship. During this time, she wrote her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars. It was published in 1992.
Parnassus Books
In 2010, Ann Patchett helped start a bookstore called Parnassus Books in Nashville. She opened it with Karen Hayes in November 2011. The bookstore grew and even added a bookmobile in 2016. This helped them reach more readers in Nashville. Ann Patchett still lives in Nashville with her husband, Karl VanDevender.
Ann Patchett's Writing Journey
Ann Patchett's first published story appeared in The Paris Review. This was even before she finished college. For nine years, she worked at Seventeen magazine. There, she mostly wrote non-fiction articles.
She has also written for many other well-known magazines. These include The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, and Vogue.
Her Novels and Awards
In 1992, Ann Patchett published her first novel, The Patron Saint of Liars. This book was later made into a TV movie in 1998. Her second novel, Taft, won the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize in 1994.
Her fourth novel, Bel Canto, came out in 2001. This book was a big success. It was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the PEN/Faulkner Award.
In 2011, she published State of Wonder, a novel set in the Amazon jungle. It was also nominated for a major award. Her 2016 novel, Commonwealth, was very popular. Ann Patchett said this book felt like her "autobiographical first novel."
In 2019, Ann Patchett wrote her first book for children, called Lambslide. That same year, she published the novel The Dutch House. This book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2020. In 2021, she released These Precious Days, a collection of essays. Her 2023 novel, Tom Lake, became a New York Times Best Seller.
Her Thoughts on Focus
Ann Patchett believes it's important to focus. She shared in an interview that she avoids distractions to help her concentrate on writing. She does not watch television or use a cell phone. She also does not use social media like Facebook. This helps her stay focused on her writing for long periods.
Her books have been translated into more than 30 different languages.
Awards and Special Honors
Ann Patchett has received many awards for her writing.
Awards for Specific Books
- Nashville Banner Tennessee Writer of the Year Award, 1994
- Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize (for Taft), 1994
- National Book Critics Circle Award finalist (for Bel Canto), 2001
- PEN/Faulkner Award (for Bel Canto), 2002
- Orange Prize (for Bel Canto), 2002
- BookSense Book of the Year (for Bel Canto), 2003
- Wellcome Trust Book Prize shortlist (for State of Wonder), 2011
Awards for Her Overall Work
- Guggenheim Fellowship, 1995 (a special award for artists)
- In 2012, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
- Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, 2014 (for her entire collection of work)
- 2014 Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement
- American Academy of Arts and Letters, 2017 (she became a member of this special group)
- Carl Sandburg Literary Award from Chicago Public Library Foundation, 2024
Published Works
Novels
- The Patron Saint of Liars (1992)
- Taft (1994)
- The Magician's Assistant (1997)
- Bel Canto (2001)
- Run (2007)
- State of Wonder (2011)
- Commonwealth (2016)
- The Dutch House (2019)
- Tom Lake (2023)
Children's Books
- Lambslide (2019)
Nonfiction
- Truth & Beauty: A Friendship (2004)
- What Now? (2008)
- These Precious Days (2021)
See also
In Spanish: Ann Patchett para niños
