Whiting Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 18 (2002) Winner
Michelle Huneven
ミシェル・ヒュネヴン
Michelle Huneven
Profile
- Gender
- Female
- Born
- 1953-08-14 （Altadena, California, U.S.）
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Unitarian Universalism
- Residence History
- Altadena, California, U.S. (born and current residence) → Iowa City, Iowa, U.S. (studied at University of Iowa) → Los Angeles, California, U.S. (teaches at UCLA)
Career
- Occupations
- novelist, journalist, food writer, university lecturer
- Active Years
- 1997-
- Affiliations
- University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles Times (former staff)
- Nominations
- National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction — finalist (Blame, 2009)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa | — | Creative Writing (Fiction) | MFA | 不明 | United States |
| Claremont School of Theology | School of Theology | Theology | — | 在籍2年（中退） | United States |
Iowa Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa
Creative Writing (Fiction)
Degree:
MFA
Period:
不明
Country:
United States
Received MFA (year unknown)
Claremont School of Theology
School of Theology
/ Theology
Period:
在籍2年（中退）
Country:
United States
Attended to train as a Unitarian Universalist minister but left after two years to focus on writing.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Whiting Award | — | — | The Whiting Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1995 | James Beard Foundation Award (Newspaper Feature Writing) | — | 新聞特集 | James Beard Foundation | 受賞 |
Whiting Award
2002
Organization:
The Whiting Foundation
Result:
受賞
James Beard Foundation Award (Newspaper Feature Writing)
1995
Category:
新聞特集
Organization:
James Beard Foundation
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
O. Henry Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 96 (2017) Winner
Works
Major Works
Round Rock
1997 Fiction (novel)Follows a graduate student's reluctant path to sobriety at a drunk farm in rural California.
recoveryaddictioncoming of age
Jamesland
2003 Fiction (novel)Set in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, three struggling characters—a Unitarian minister, a descendant of William James, and a former chef—help each other learn to get by.
faith and religioncommunity and friendshiprecovery
Blame
2009 Fiction (novel)Portrays the journey of a young history professor after accidentally killing two people while driving under the influence, exploring guilt, accountability, and redemption.
guilt and atonementlaw and ethicsredemption
Off Course
2014 Fiction (novel)Tells the story of an economics graduate student who attempts to finish her dissertation while living in her parents' cabin in the Southern Sierras, becoming entangled in the local community.
academia and personal lifesmall-community dynamicsself-discovery
Search
2022 Fiction (novel)Tells the story of a Unitarian Universalist church's search for a new minister, narrated by a restaurant reviewer and former seminarian who joins the search committee intending to write a memoir.
inner life of religious communityidentitytruth and fiction
Bug Hollow
2025 Fiction (novel)Tells the wondrous and intimate journey of the Samuelson family, their deepest secrets, greatest loves, epic heartbreaks, and a grief that touched them for generations.
family historyintergenerational griefmemory and loss
Bibliography
- Round Rock (1997)
- Jamesland (2003)
- Blame (2009)
- Off Course (2014)
- Search (2022)
- Bug Hollow (2025)
- Tao Gals’ Guide to Real Estate (co-authored, 2006)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- precise, character-focused psychological portrayalquiet and empathetic narrative voicerealistic landscape description
- Recurring Motifs
- recovery and rehabilitationreligion and spiritual searchingfamily and intergenerational conflictfood culture (essays and criticism)
Legacy
A writer known for exploring recovery and maturation. She has contributed to both fiction and food journalism, teaches creative writing at UCLA, and has received honors including the Whiting Award and a James Beard Foundation Award.
Quotes
-
"Sensitive, reflective and uncomfortably true to life, with a wonderfully rich cast of supporting characters."
Source: Kirkus Reviews (review of Search) (2022) -
"Huneven’s touch is sure, and her protagonist is simultaneously sympathetic and maddening. The landscape descriptions are erotic, and the erotic scenes have near-hallucinatory power."
Source: The New Yorker (on Off Course) (2014) -
"[A] wondrous and intimate journey of the Samuelson family..."
Source: Griffin Dunne (blurb for Bug Hollow) (2025)
Trivia
- Born August 14, 1953
- From and based in Altadena, California (returned in 2001)
- Home destroyed in the Eaton Fire (January 2025)
- Worked as a restaurant critic and food writer for LA Weekly and the Los Angeles Times
- Won a James Beard Foundation Award (Newspaper Feature Writing) in 1995
- Received a Whiting Award in 2002
- Attended Claremont School of Theology for two years before leaving to focus on writing
- Co-authored Tao Gals’ Guide to Real Estate (2006)
- Short fiction published in Harper's and Redbook among others
- Teaches creative writing at UCLA