Encore Award
1 appearances
Claire Messud
クレア・メスッド
Claire Messud
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1966-10-08 （Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American, Canadian, French
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Australia → Canada → United States
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, teacher, university lecturer
- Active Years
- 1995-
- Affiliations
- Amherst College, Kenyon College, University of Maryland, Yale University, Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers, Johns Hopkins University, Sewanee: The University of the South, Harvard University (Creative Writing faculty)
- Influenced By
- Katherine Mansfield, Djuna Barnes, Elizabeth Bowen, Jean Rhys
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Toronto Schools | — | — | — | — | Canada |
| Milton Academy | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Yale University | — | — | — | — | United States |
| Cambridge University | — | — | — | 1987-1989 | United Kingdom |
| Syracuse University | MFA program | — | — | — | United States |
University of Toronto Schools
Country:
Canada
Secondary education
Milton Academy
Country:
United States
Includes boarding-school education
Yale University
Country:
United States
Studied as undergraduate/graduate (specific degree/year not provided)
Cambridge University
Period:
1987-1989
Country:
United Kingdom
Period of graduate study; met her husband James Wood.
Syracuse University
MFA program
Country:
United States
Entered MFA program but later found it not a good fit
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | Addison Metcalf Award | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 受賞 |
| — | Strauss Living Award | — | — | American Academy of Arts and Letters | 受賞 |
| 1996 | PEN/Faulkner Award (nominated) | When the World Was Steady | — | PEN/Faulkner | ノミネート |
| 2006 | Man Booker Prize (longlisted) | The Emperor's Children | — | The Booker Prize Foundation | ロングリスト |
| 2013 | Scotiabank Giller Prize (longlisted) | The Woman Upstairs | — | Scotiabank Giller Prize | ロングリスト |
| 2024 | Giller Prize (longlisted) | This Strange Eventful History | — | Giller Prize | ロングリスト |
| 2024 | Booker Prize (longlisted) | This Strange Eventful History | — | The Booker Prize Foundation | ロングリスト |
Addison Metcalf Award
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
受賞
Strauss Living Award
Organization:
American Academy of Arts and Letters
Result:
受賞
PEN/Faulkner Award (nominated)
1996
Work:
When the World Was Steady
Organization:
PEN/Faulkner
Result:
ノミネート
Man Booker Prize (longlisted)
2006
Work:
The Emperor's Children
Organization:
The Booker Prize Foundation
Result:
ロングリスト
Scotiabank Giller Prize (longlisted)
2013
Work:
The Woman Upstairs
Organization:
Scotiabank Giller Prize
Result:
ロングリスト
Giller Prize (longlisted)
2024
Work:
This Strange Eventful History
Organization:
Giller Prize
Result:
ロングリスト
Booker Prize (longlisted)
2024
Work:
This Strange Eventful History
Organization:
The Booker Prize Foundation
Result:
ロングリスト
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
When the World Was Steady
1995 NovelMessud's debut novel; a collection of fiction exploring personal relationships and coming-of-age themes.
relationshipscoming of age
The Last Life
1999 NovelA multi-generational novel about a French-Algerian family.
familymigrationcultural identity
The Hunters
2001 Novellas/Short fiction 200 pagesA volume consisting of two novellas.
isolationinterpersonal tension
The Emperor's Children
2006 NovelA critically praised, New York Times bestselling novel set in New York, following a group of young people and their ambitions and failures.
ambitionidentityclass and culture
The Woman Upstairs
2013 NovelA novel about suppressed desires and self-definition; published in 2013 and longlisted for the Giller Prize.
female selfhoodart and identity
The Burning Girl
2017 NovelA novel about adolescent friendship and coming of age; named one of the best books of the year by the Los Angeles Times.
friendshipadolescencememory
Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write
2020 Essays / Autobiographical essaysA collection of essays reflecting on writing and reading.
writingreading
A Dream Life
2022 NovelA recent novel; detailed plot information is limited.
This Strange Eventful History
2024 NovelPublished in 2024; a sprawling novel that weaves personal and family history with themes of colonialism, longlisted for the 2024 Giller and Booker Prizes.
family historycolonialismmemory
Bibliography
- When the World Was Steady (1995)
- The Last Life (1999)
- The Hunters (2001)
- The Professor's History (2006)
- The Emperor's Children (2006)
- The Woman Upstairs (2013)
- The Burning Girl (2017)
- Kant's Little Prussian Head and Other Reasons Why I Write (2020)
- A Dream Life (2022)
- This Strange Eventful History (2024)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- precise psychological observationsocial and cultural observationmeasured, detailed prose
- Recurring Motifs
- isolationsearch for identityfamily history and memory
Legacy
Claire Messud is a highly regarded contemporary novelist whose multinational background informs her work; she is also known for her teaching and critical essays.
Trivia
- Reported to hold three passports: American, Canadian and French.
- Married to critic James Wood; has two children.
- Grew up in Australia and Canada during childhood and adolescence.