World Literary Awards

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George Saunders

ジョージ・ソーンダース

Jōji Sōndāsu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1958-12-02 （Amarillo, Texas, U.S.）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Nyingma (Tibetan Buddhism)
Residence History
Amarillo, Texas (birth) → Oak Forest, Illinois (grew up) → Syracuse, New York (faculty)

Career

Occupations
Writer, Journalist, College professor
Active Years
1986-
Affiliations
Syracuse University (MFA faculty)
Memberships
American Academy of Arts and Sciences (member), American Academy of Arts and Letters (member)
Influenced By
Nikolai Gogol, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Isaac Babel, Mark Twain, Daniil Kharms, Groucho Marx, Monty Python, Steve Martin, Jack Handey, Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Carver, Tobias Wolff

Education

Colorado School of Mines
Geophysical Engineering
Degree: B.S.
Period: 1970s–1981
Year of Graduation: 1981
Country: United States
Received B.S. in geophysical engineering
Syracuse University
Creative Writing (M.F.A.)
Degree: M.F.A.
Period: 1986–1988
Year of Graduation: 1988
Country: United States
Studied with Tobias Wolff

Awards

National Magazine Award (Fiction)
1994
Work: The 400-Pound CEO
Category: フィクション
Organization: ASME (American Society of Magazine Editors)
Result: Won
National Magazine Award (Fiction)
1996
Work: Bounty
Category: フィクション
Organization: ASME (American Society of Magazine Editors)
Result: Won
National Magazine Award (Fiction)
2000
Work: The Barber's Unhappiness
Category: フィクション
Organization: ASME (American Society of Magazine Editors)
Result: Won
National Magazine Award (Fiction)
2004
Work: The Red Bow
Category: フィクション
Organization: ASME (American Society of Magazine Editors)
Result: Won
O. Henry Award (2nd prize)
1997
Work: The Falls
Organization: O. Henry Awards
Result: 2nd prize
World Fantasy Award (Short Fiction)
2006
Work: CommComm
Category: 短編
Organization: World Fantasy Convention
Result: Won
MacArthur Fellowship
2006
Organization: MacArthur Foundation
Result: 受賞
PEN/Malamud Award
2013
Category: 短編文学
Organization: PEN
Result: 受賞
The Story Prize
2014
Work: Tenth of December: Stories
Category: 短篇集
Organization: The Story Prize
Result: Won
Folio Prize
2014
Work: Tenth of December: Stories
Organization: Folio Prize
Result: Won
Man Booker Prize
2017
Work: Lincoln in the Bardo
Organization: The Booker Prizes
Result: Won
Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
2023
Organization: Library of Congress
Result: 受賞

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

CivilWarLand in Bad Decline

1996 Short story collection (short stories and a novella)

A collection of short stories and a novella blending satire and dark humor, often criticizing consumerism and corporate culture.

ConsumerismCorporate cultureExploration of humanitySatire
Adaptations
  • [Film (film rights acquired)] CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (film project)

Pastoralia

2000 Short story collection (short stories and a novella)

A collection containing stories set in corporate or theme-park-like environments, combining satire with tragicomic elements.

SatireIdentityConsumer society

Tenth of December: Stories

2013 Short story collection

A short-story collection that explores compassion and moral choices; widely acclaimed by critics.

EmpathyMoralityEveryday miracles

Lincoln in the Bardo

2017 Novel (historical fiction, experimental form)

An experimental historical novel set in the bardo, about President Lincoln and the death of his son, told through multiple voices.

Death and lossHistory and memoryCollective voices

Liberation Day: Stories

2022 Short story collection

A collection of contemporary short stories that examine modern society and individual struggles.

Social critiqueIndividual conflict

Bibliography

  • CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996)
  • Pastoralia (2000)
  • In Persuasion Nation (2006)
  • The Braindead Megaphone (2007)
  • Tenth of December: Stories (2013)
  • Lincoln in the Bardo (2017)
  • A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (2021)
  • Liberation Day: Stories (2022)

Adaptations

  • Ben Stiller acquired film rights to CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (in development)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
SatiricalTragicomicAllegoricalExperimentally narrated
Recurring Motifs
Absurdity of consumerismCorporate culture and role-playingEmpathy and moral choiceStrangeness and humor

Legacy

Highly regarded contemporary American writer, known as a master of the short story. His collections and novel Lincoln in the Bardo have received major awards and critical acclaim.

Academic Societies

  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • American Academy of Arts and Letters

Quotes

  • Any claim I might make to originality in my fiction is really just the result of this odd background: basically, just me working inefficiently, with flawed tools, in a mode I don't have sufficient background to really understand.
    Source: Interview / Syracuse University commentary

Trivia

  • Worked as a roofer, doorman in Beverly Hills, and a slaughterhouse knuckle-puller in his early twenties.
  • Married to writer Paula Redick; has two children.
  • Awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2006 (approx. $500,000).