George Saunders facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
George Saunders
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Saunders in 2023
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| Born | December 2, 1958 Amarillo, Texas, U.S. |
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| Language | English |
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| Period | 1986–present |
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| Spouse | Paula Redick |
| Children | 2 |
George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is a famous American writer. He writes many kinds of stories, including short stories, essays, and novels. His work has appeared in popular magazines like The New Yorker and Harper's. He also wrote a weekly column for The Guardian newspaper.
Saunders is a professor at Syracuse University. He has won many important awards for his writing. These include the National Magazine Award several times and the O. Henry Awards. In 2006, he received a special award called a MacArthur Fellowship. This award is given to talented people in many fields.
His book of short stories, Tenth of December, won The Story Prize in 2013. It also won the first Folio Prize in 2014. His novel Lincoln in the Bardo won the prestigious Booker Prize in 2017.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
George Saunders was born in Amarillo, Texas. He grew up in Oak Forest, Illinois, which is close to Chicago. He went to St. Damian Catholic School and then graduated from Oak Forest High School.
Before becoming a writer, Saunders had many different jobs. He worked as a roofer in Chicago and a doorman in Beverly Hills. He even worked in a slaughterhouse. In 1981, he earned a degree in geophysical engineering from Colorado School of Mines. This means he studied how to find things like oil and gas in the Earth.
In 1988, he earned a master's degree in creative writing from Syracuse University. There, he met Paula Redick, who was also a writer. They got married very quickly after meeting!
Who Inspired George Saunders?
Saunders has shared some of the writers who influenced him. He really likes Russian writers from the 1800s and early 1900s, such as Gogol and Chekhov. He admires how they discuss big ideas.
He also enjoys funny writers who use absurd humor. These include Mark Twain, Groucho Marx, and the comedy group Monty Python. Saunders also likes American writers who use a simple, direct style, like Ernest Hemingway.
Writing Career and Style
From 1989 to 1996, George Saunders worked as a technical writer. He also worked as a geophysical engineer for an environmental company. Before that, in the early 1980s, he even worked with an oil exploration team in Sumatra.
Since 1997, Saunders has taught creative writing at Syracuse University. He helps students in their Master of Fine Arts (MFA) program. In 2006, he received a Guggenheim Fellowship and a large MacArthur Fellowship award. These awards help writers and artists focus on their work.
What Saunders Writes About
Saunders's stories often look at how strange and funny modern life can be. He often writes about consumerism (people buying lots of things) and corporate culture (how big companies work). He also explores the role of mass media (like TV and news).
His writing often uses satirical humor, which means he makes fun of things to show their flaws. But his stories also make readers think about important moral questions. Many people compare his writing style to Kurt Vonnegut, another famous author known for his funny and thoughtful stories.
The actor Ben Stiller bought the rights to make a movie from Saunders's book CivilWarLand in Bad Decline. Saunders has also written a movie script based on his short story "Sea Oak."
Awards and Special Recognitions
George Saunders has received many awards and honors throughout his career. These awards recognize his talent and contributions to literature.
Major Honors
- In 2001, he received a Lannan Literary Fellowship.
- He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2006.
- Also in 2006, he received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.
- In 2009, he won an award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
- He was chosen to be a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2014.
- In 2018, he became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Key Awards for His Books
Saunders has won the National Magazine Award for Fiction four times. He won for stories like "The 400-Pound CEO" (1994) and "Bounty" (1996). He also won for "The Barber's Unhappiness" (2000) and "The Red Bow" (2004).
In 1997, he won second prize in the O. Henry Awards for his short story "The Falls." In 2013, he received the PEN/Malamud Award for his excellent short stories.
His short-story collection Tenth of December was named one of the "10 Best Books of 2013" by The New York Times Book Review. The New York Times Magazine even called it "the best book you'll read this year."
In 2017, Saunders published his first novel, Lincoln in the Bardo. This book won the famous Booker Prize and became a New York Times bestseller.
Selected Works
George Saunders has written many books and stories. Here are some of his most well-known works:
Story Collections
- CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996)
- Pastoralia (2000)
- In Persuasion Nation (2006)
- Tenth of December: Stories (2013)
- Liberation Day: Stories (2022)
Novels
- The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (2005, a shorter novel)
- Lincoln in the Bardo (2017)
- Fox 8 (2018, a shorter novel)
Children's Books
Images for kids
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Saunders in 2023
See also
In Spanish: George Saunders para niños
