Gary Shteyngart facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Gary Shteyngart
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Gary Shteyngart at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
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| Born | Igor Semyonovich Shteyngart July 5, 1972 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (present-day Saint Petersburg, Russia) |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Nationality | American |
| Spouse | Esther Won |
Gary Shteyngart (English: /ˈʃtaɪnɡɑːrt/ SHTYNE-gart) is an American writer. He was born in the Soviet Union on July 5, 1972. His birth name was Igor Semyonovich Shteyngart. He has written six novels and a memoir. Many of his books are funny and use satire to make a point.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Growing Up in the Soviet Union
Igor Semyonovich Shteyngart was born in Leningrad, which is now called St. Petersburg, in the Soviet Union. He spent his first seven years living near a large statue of Vladimir Lenin. His family was Jewish and he describes them as "typically Soviet". His father was an engineer, and his mother was a pianist. When he was only five years old, he wrote a 100-page comic novel!
Moving to America
In 1979, Shteyngart moved to the United States. He grew up in Queens, New York. His family did not have a television, and English was not spoken at home. He spoke with a Russian accent until he was about 14 years old.
He went to Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Later, he graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio in 1995. He studied politics there. For his final project, he wrote about the former Soviet republics of Georgia, Moldova, and Tajikistan.
Writing Career
Starting as a Writer
After college, Gary Shteyngart worked for different non-profit groups in New York. In the early 1990s, he visited Prague. This trip helped him get the idea for his first novel, The Russian Debutante's Handbook. The book is set in a made-up European city called Prava.
In 1999, he sent part of his first novel to Chang-Rae Lee. Lee was the director of the creative writing program at Hunter College in New York. Lee helped Shteyngart get his first book deal. Shteyngart later earned a master's degree in creative writing from Hunter College.
Teaching and Fellowships
Gary Shteyngart had a special fellowship at the American Academy in Berlin, Germany, in 2007. He has taught writing at Hunter College. He also teaches writing at Columbia University.
Awards and Recognition
Gary Shteyngart's books have won many awards.
- The Russian Debutante's Handbook won the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction. It also won the Book-of-the-Month Club First Fiction Award and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction. The New York Times called it a Notable Book.
- In 2002, Shout NY Magazine named him one of the five best new writers.
- His novel Absurdistan was chosen as one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review and Time magazine. Many other newspapers also named it a top book.
- In 2010, The New Yorker magazine named him one of "20 under 40" important fiction writers.
- Super Sad True Love Story won the 2011 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for funny literature.
- His memoir, Little Failure, was a finalist for the 2014 National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography.
Published Works
Novels and Memoir
Gary Shteyngart has written several novels:
- The Russian Debutante's Handbook (2002)
- Absurdistan (2006)
- Super Sad True Love Story (2010) – This book was promoted with a short film featuring actors Paul Giamatti and James Franco.
- Little Failure: A Memoir (2014) – This is his memoir, a book about his own life. It was also promoted with a short film featuring James Franco and Rashida Jones.
- Lake Success (2018) – This book had a short film promotion with actor Ben Stiller.
- Our Country Friends (2021) – This novel is about friends who spend time together during a pandemic.
- Vera, or Faith (2025) – This novel tells the story of a 10-year-old Korean American girl living in a future America.
Other Writings
His other writings have appeared in well-known magazines and newspapers. These include The New Yorker, Slate, Granta, Travel and Leisure, The New York Times, and The Atlantic.
Personal Life
Gary Shteyngart is married to Esther Won. They have a son, who was born in October 2013. Shteyngart lives in the Gramercy neighborhood of Manhattan, New York. He also spends half of the year at a house in northern Dutchess County, in the Hudson River Valley. He does most of his writing there.
Images for kids
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Gary Shteyngart at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
See also
In Spanish: Gary Shteyngart para niños
