Aimee Bender
Aimee Bender | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 28, 1969 United States |
| Occupation | Author, writer |
| Education | University of California, San Diego University of California, Irvine(MFA) |
| Genre | Fiction, short story |
Aimee Bender(born June 28, 1969) is an American novelist and short story writer, known for her surreal stories and characters. She is a 2011 recipient of theAlex Awards.
Biography
[edit]Born to aJewishfamily,[1]Bender received her undergraduate degree from theUniversity of California at San Diego,and aMaster of Fine Artsfrom the creative writing MFA program atUniversity of California at Irvine.While at UCI she studied withJudith GrossmanandGeoffrey Wolff.She receivedArtsBridgescholarships and worked with mentorKeith Fowlerto create writing programs for K-12 students in Orange County, California. She currently teaches creative writing at theUniversity of Southern Californiawhere she served as Director of theUSC PhD in Creative Writing & Literaturefrom 2012 to 2015. In the past she taught a class in surrealist writing at theUCLAExtension Writers' Program and was a senior artist at the non-profit theater workshop The Imagination Workshop, helping mentally ill and at-risk individuals write, direct and act in their own theatrical creations. She has namedOscar Wilde,Hans Christian Andersen,theBrothers GrimmandAnne Sextonas influences on her writing. A native of Los Angeles, Bender is a close friend of fellow UCI alumnaAlice Sebold.Her sister is novelist and short story writerKaren Bender.[2]
Her first book wasThe Girl in the Flammable Skirt,a collection of short stories, published in 1998. The book was chosen as aNew York TimesNotable Bookof 1998 and spent seven weeks on theLos Angeles Timesbestseller list. Her novelAn Invisible Sign of My Ownwas published in 2000, and was named as aLos Angeles TimesPick of the Year. In 2005 she published another collection of short stories,Willful Creatures,which was nominated byThe Believermagazine – owned byMcSweeney's— as one of the Best Books of the Year. Her novellaThe Third Elevatorwas published in 2009 by Madras Press. Her novelThe Particular Sadness of Lemon Cakewas published in 2010 byDoubleday.
Bender has received twoPushcart Prizes,and was nominated for theJames Tiptree, Jr. Awardin 2005. Her short story,Faceswas a 2009Shirley Jackson Awardfinalist. In 2009 Bender became the sitting judge for the Flatmancrooked Writing Prize, a writing award from Flatmancrooked Publishing for new short fiction.
Bender's works have also been published inGranta,GQ,Harper's Magazine,Tin House,Opium Magazine,McSweeney's,The Paris Review,The Coffin Factory,and several anthologies. She has also been heard onThis American LifeandSelected Shorts.[3]
Bibliography
[edit]- —— (1998).The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.Knopf.ISBN9780385492164.
- —— (2000).An Invisible Sign of My Own.Knopf.ISBN9780385492249.
- —— (2005).Willful Creatures.Knopf.ISBN9780385720977.
- —— (2009).The Third Elevator.Catapult.ISBN9780982525401.
- —— (2010).The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake.Knopf.ISBN9780385501125.
- —— (2013).The Color Master.Knopf.ISBN9780385534895.
- —— (2020).The Butterfly Lampshade.Knopf.ISBN9780385534871.
References
[edit]- ^Pfefferman, Naomi (September 14, 2006)."So many authors, so little time".Jewish Journal.Archived fromthe originalon September 29, 2015.RetrievedOctober 22,2017.
- ^Berry, Harrison (Mar 10, 2017). "Bender Sisters Discuss Ambiguity of Cats, Writing for Fangoria and Empathy at Egyptian Theatre."Boise Weekly.Retrieved January 9, 2024.
- ^Aimee Bender's Website
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Aimee BenderatLibrary of Congress,with 10 library catalog records
- Aimee Benderat theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
- 1969 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American academics
- 20th-century American Jews
- 20th-century American novelists
- 20th-century American short story writers
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American academics
- 21st-century American Jews
- 21st-century American novelists
- 21st-century American short story writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- American women academics
- American women novelists
- American women short story writers
- Jewish American academics
- Jewish American novelists
- Jewish American short story writers
- Jewish women writers
- University of California, Irvine alumni
- University of Southern California faculty
- University of Southern California people