Bonnie Jo Campbell
Encyclopedia
Bonnie Jo Campbell is an American novelist, and short story writer.
(from which she graduated in 1980), and received an B.A. in philosophy from the University of Chicago
in 1984. From Western Michigan University
, she received an MA in mathematics in 1995 and an MFA in creative writing
in 1998. She has traveled with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
, and has organized adventure bicycle tours in Eastern Europe and Russia.
She was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award
in fiction for her short-story collection American Salvage, which the Kansas City Star also named a Top Six Book of 2009. American Salvage, was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award
for fiction. She has won a Pushcart Prize
for her story “The Smallest Man in the World,” the 1998 Associated Writing Programs Award for short fiction (for Women & Other Animals), and the 2009 Eudora Welty
Prize from Southern Review for “The Inventor, 1972.”
Her stories and essays have also appeared in Ontario Review, Story, The Kenyon Review
, Witness, The Alaska Quarterly Review
, Michigan Quarterly Review
, Mid-American Review
, and Utne Reader
. In 1999, her story “Shifting Gears” was the official story of the Detroit Automobile Dealers' Association Show.
Campbell lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband, Christopher Magson, and she teaches fiction at Pacific University
in Forest Grove, Oregon
, in the low-residency MFA program.
, 2002, ISBN 9780743203074; W. W. Norton
, 2009, ISBN 9780393339192
Biography
Campbell attended Comstock High SchoolComstock High School
- Comstock High School :Comstock High School is a secondary school within the Comstock Public School District located in Comstock Charter Township near the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States....
(from which she graduated in 1980), and received an B.A. in philosophy from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1984. From Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
, she received an MA in mathematics in 1995 and an MFA in creative writing
Creative writing
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction, that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, and technical forms of literature. Works which fall into this category include novels, epics, short stories, and poems...
in 1998. She has traveled with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is an American circus company. The company was started when the circus created by James Anthony Bailey and P. T. Barnum was merged with the Ringling Brothers Circus. The Ringling brothers purchased the Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1907, but ran the circuses...
, and has organized adventure bicycle tours in Eastern Europe and Russia.
She was a finalist for the 2009 National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
in fiction for her short-story collection American Salvage, which the Kansas City Star also named a Top Six Book of 2009. American Salvage, was also a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
for fiction. She has won a Pushcart Prize
Pushcart Prize
The Pushcart Prize is an American literary prize by Pushcart Press that honors the best "poetry, short fiction, essays or literary whatnot" published in the small presses over the previous year. Magazine and small book press editors are invited to nominate up to 6 works they have featured....
for her story “The Smallest Man in the World,” the 1998 Associated Writing Programs Award for short fiction (for Women & Other Animals), and the 2009 Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
Prize from Southern Review for “The Inventor, 1972.”
Her stories and essays have also appeared in Ontario Review, Story, The Kenyon Review
The Kenyon Review
The Kenyon Review is a Literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, USA, home of Kenyon College. The Review was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959...
, Witness, The Alaska Quarterly Review
The Alaska Quarterly Review
The Alaska Quarterly Review is a biannual literary journal founded in 1980 by Ronald Spatz and James Liszka at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Ronald Spatz serves as editor-in-chief...
, Michigan Quarterly Review
Michigan Quarterly Review
The Michigan Quarterly Review is an American literary magazine founded in 1962 and published at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.The quarterly publishes art, essays, interviews, memoirs, fiction, poetry, and book reviews as well as writing "in a wide variety of research areas", according to...
, Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review
Mid-American Review is an international literary journal dedicated to publishing contemporary fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and translations. Founded in 1981, MAR is a publication of the Department of English and the College of Arts & Sciences at Bowling Green State University...
, and Utne Reader
Utne Reader
Utne Reader is an American bimonthly magazine. The magazine collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment from generally alternative media sources, including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music and DVDs...
. In 1999, her story “Shifting Gears” was the official story of the Detroit Automobile Dealers' Association Show.
Campbell lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with her husband, Christopher Magson, and she teaches fiction at Pacific University
Pacific University
Pacific University is a private university located in Oregon, United States. The first campus began more than 160 years ago and is located about 38 km west of Portland in Forest Grove...
in Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove, Oregon
Forest Grove is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, west of Portland. Originally a small farm town, it is now primarily a bedroom suburb of Portland. Settled in the 1840s, the town was platted in 1850 and then incorporated in 1872 and was the first city in Washington County...
, in the low-residency MFA program.
Short story collections
; Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, 2002, ISBN 9780743203074; W. W. Norton
W. W. Norton
W. W. Norton & Company is an independent American book publishing company based in New York City. It is well known for its "Norton Anthologies", particularly the Norton Anthology of English Literature and the "Norton Critical Editions" series of texts which are frequently assigned in university...
, 2009, ISBN 9780393339192
Reviews
Interviews
- Interview with Kenyon Review
- Interview with Dan Wickett, EWN
- Interview with Monica Friedman
- Interview with Andrew’s Book Club
- Wisconsin Book Festival 2009 Interview
- Author Bonnie Jo Campbell on fizzy water, donkeys