Los Angeles Times Book Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 20 (1999) Winner
Elizabeth Strout
エリザベス・ストラウト
Erizabesu Sutorauto
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1956-01-06 （Portland, Maine, U.S.）
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Portland, Maine (raised) → Durham, New Hampshire (raised) → Oxford, England (studied, 1 year) → New York City (residence) → Brunswick, Maine (residence)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, short-story writer, author
- Active Years
- 1982-
- Affiliations
- Borough of Manhattan Community College (part-time instructor), Queens University of Charlotte (MFA faculty), Colgate University (NEH lecturer, fall 2007)
- Nominations
- My Name Is Lucy Barton — Man Booker Prize longlist, Oh William! — Booker Prize 2022 shortlist, Tell Me Everything — Books Are My Bag Readers' Awards 2025 shortlist
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bates College | — | — | BA | — | United States |
| Syracuse University College of Law | — | — | J.D. | — | United States |
Bates College
Degree:
BA
Country:
United States
Graduated from Bates College in Lewiston; spent a year in Oxford afterwards
Syracuse University College of Law
Degree:
J.D.
Year of Graduation:
1982
Country:
United States
Graduated with a J.D. in 1982; first story published that year
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Pulitzer Prize for Fiction | Olive Kitteridge | — | Pulitzer Prize Board | winner |
| 2010 | Premio Bancarella | Olive Kitteridge | — | Premio Bancarella organization | winner |
| 2018 | The Story Prize | Anything Is Possible | — | The Story Prize | winner |
| 2022 | Siegfried Lenz Prize | — | — | Siegfried Lenz Foundation / prize committee | winner |
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
2009
Work:
Olive Kitteridge
Organization:
Pulitzer Prize Board
Result:
winner
Premio Bancarella
2010
Work:
Olive Kitteridge
Organization:
Premio Bancarella organization
Result:
winner
The Story Prize
2018
Work:
Anything Is Possible
Organization:
The Story Prize
Result:
winner
Siegfried Lenz Prize
2022
Organization:
Siegfried Lenz Foundation / prize committee
Result:
winner
Awards & Nominations
Pulitzer Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 93 (2009) Winner
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
1 appearances
-
Edition 1 (2009) Winner
Premio Bancarella
1 appearances
-
Edition 58 (2010) Winner
The Story Prize
1 appearances
-
Edition 14 (2017) Winner
Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 37 (2022) Winner
Works
Major Works
Amy and Isabelle
1998 Literary fictionA portrait of a fraught mother–daughter relationship in a small town; explores intimacy, shame and resilience.
familycoming-of-agesmall-town life
Adaptations
- [TV movie] Amy and Isabelle (TV movie) (2001)
Abide with Me
2006 Literary fictionSet in a small New England town in the 1950s, the novel addresses faith, solitude, and the struggle for personal meaning.
faithlonelinesshistorical context (Cold War era)
Olive Kitteridge
2008 Interlinked short stories / Literary fictionA linked collection of short stories set in a coastal Maine town, centering on Olive and exploring aging, marriage, loss, and compassion.
agingfamily relationshipsforgivenesssmall-town community
Adaptations
- [TV miniseries] Olive Kitteridge (HBO miniseries) / Lisa Cholodenko (2014)
The Burgess Boys
2013 Literary fictionA family saga about returning brothers, immigration politics, and complicated loyalties—handled with quiet humor and intelligence.
familyimmigrationforgiveness and reconciliation
My Name Is Lucy Barton
2016 Literary fictionA spare, intimate novel about Lucy Barton recovering from surgery and reconnecting with her estranged mother.
familymemoryestrangement and reconciliation
Anything Is Possible
2017 Linked short stories / Literary fictionA collection of linked stories set in the same town as Lucy Barton, exploring ordinary lives marked by hurt and moments of grace.
communitygracetrauma and recovery
Olive, Again
2019 Linked short stories / Literary fictionA follow-up to Olive Kitteridge, revisiting Olive and the inhabitants of her town as they face later-life challenges.
agingrevisiting charactershuman relationships
Oh, William!
2021 Literary fictionAnother Lucy Barton novel that examines how difficult it is to truly know other people and ourselves.
self-knowledgerelationshipsconfronting the past
Lucy by the Sea
2022 Literary fictionA pandemic novel portraying Lucy and her ex-husband William quarantining by the sea in Maine.
isolationintimacycontemporary history (pandemic)
Tell Me Everything
2024 Literary fiction (contains elements of mystery)Brings together Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge and other recurring characters in a multi-perspective novel that received mixed reviews.
ensemble castreexamination of the pasttruth and memory
Bibliography
- Amy and Isabelle (1998)
- Abide with Me (2006)
- Olive Kitteridge (2008)
- The Burgess Boys (2013)
- My Name Is Lucy Barton (2016)
- Anything Is Possible (2017)
- Olive, Again (2019)
- Oh, William! (2021)
- Lucy by the Sea (2022)
- Tell Me Everything (2024)
Adaptations
- Olive Kitteridge — HBO miniseries (2014)
- Amy and Isabelle — TV movie (2001)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- character-driven realismrestrained, elegant proseobservational narration
- Recurring Motifs
- small-town lifefamily and parent–child relationshipsloneliness and forgivenessaging and loss
Legacy
Elizabeth Strout is acclaimed for her precise character studies and New England settings; she achieved international recognition after winning the Pulitzer Prize for Olive Kitteridge. Several of her works have been bestsellers and adapted or spotlighted in major book clubs.
In Popular Culture
- Olive Kitteridge adapted into an Emmy-winning HBO miniseries
- Selected for Oprah's Book Club (e.g., Olive, Again; Tell Me Everything)
Quotes
-
I wanted to be a writer so much that the idea of failing at it was almost unbearable to me.
Source: Interview with The Morning News (2016) (2016)
Trivia
- Married to James Tierney, former Maine Attorney General and Harvard Law lecturer.
- Her daughter Zarina Shea is a playwright.
- Her upbringing in Maine inspired the fictional town of 'Shirley Falls' that recurs in several novels.
- Olive Kitteridge achieved strong commercial success, selling over one million copies as of May 2017 (reported).