Melissa Bank
Encyclopedia
Melissa Bank is an American
author. Along with English
author Helen Fielding
, Bank is credited with giving rise to the Chick Lit
genre. She has published two novels, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
and The Wonder Spot, which have been translated into over thirty languages. Bank was the winner of the 1993 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction.
, died of leukemia
in his late 50s. Bank attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges
, and has an MFA from Cornell University
. Bank's literary influences include Vladmir Nabokov, John Cheever
, Billy Collins
, and Grace Paley
; her favorite nonfiction writer is Janet Malcolm
.
for almost two years. This condition affected her short-term memory and deprived her of the "top 10 to 15% of [her] vocabulary"; she was unable to order information or perform sequential thinking. Bank had to stop writing the book during this period.
Finally published in 1999, The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing was a bestseller in both the United States and the United Kingdom, garnering mostly positive reviews. The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Bank writes like John Cheever
, but funnier." Newsweek critic Yahlin Chang wrote, "Bank draws exquisite portraits of loneliness, and she can do it in a sentence." Others placed Ms. Bank in the school of restraint exemplified by Hemingway
and Raymond Carver
.
Bank has published short stories and nonfiction in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, Ploughshares, Zoetrope, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Seventeen, as well as been broadcast on National Public Radio and the BBC.
Bank divides her time between New York City
and East Hampton
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author. Along with English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
author Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding is an English novelist and screenwriter, best known as the creator of the fictional character Bridget Jones, a sequence of novels and films that chronicle the life of a thirtysomething single woman in London as she tries to make sense of life and love.Her novels Bridget Jones's...
, Bank is credited with giving rise to the Chick Lit
Chick lit
Chick lit is genre fiction which addresses issues of modern womanhood, often humorously and lightheartedly. The genre sold well during the 1990s and 2000s, with chick lit titles topping bestseller lists and the creation of imprints devoted entirely to chick lit...
genre. She has published two novels, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing (novel)
The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing is a 1999 collection of linked short stories by Melissa Bank. The stories follow the main character Jane Rosenal, starting with her life at age 14....
and The Wonder Spot, which have been translated into over thirty languages. Bank was the winner of the 1993 Nelson Algren Award for short fiction.
Biography
Bank was born in Philadelphia; her father, a neurologistNeurologist
A neurologist is a physician who specializes in neurology, and is trained to investigate, or diagnose and treat neurological disorders.Neurology is the medical specialty related to the human nervous system. The nervous system encompasses the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves. A specialist...
, died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in his late 50s. Bank attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Hobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. In athletics, however, the two schools compete with separate teams, known as the Hobart Statesmen and the...
, and has an MFA from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. Bank's literary influences include Vladmir Nabokov, John Cheever
John Cheever
John William Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy,...
, Billy Collins
Billy Collins
Billy Collins is an American poet, appointed as Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003. He is a Distinguished Professor at Lehman College of the City University of New York and is the Senior Distinguished Fellow of the Winter Park Institute, Florida...
, and Grace Paley
Grace Paley
Grace Paley was an American-Jewish short story writer, poet, and political activist.-Biography:Grace Paley was born in the Bronx to Isaac and Manya Ridnyik Goodside, who anglicized the family name from Gutseit on immigrating from Ukraine. Her father was a doctor. The family spoke Russian and...
; her favorite nonfiction writer is Janet Malcolm
Janet Malcolm
Janet Malcolm is an American writer and journalist on staff at The New Yorker magazine. She is the author of Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession , In the Freud Archives and The Journalist and the Murderer ....
.
The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing
The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing took Bank twelve years to write. Most of that time Bank worked as a copywriter, focusing on the novel in her spare time. About five years before the book was published, Bank was involved in a serious bicycle accident where she was struck by a car. She landed on her head, and even though she was wearing a helmet, she suffered post-concussion syndromePost-concussion syndrome
Post-concussion syndrome, also known as postconcussive syndrome or PCS, and historically called shell shock, is a set of symptoms that a person may experience for weeks, months, or occasionally up to a year or more after a concussion – a mild form of traumatic brain injury . PCS may also...
for almost two years. This condition affected her short-term memory and deprived her of the "top 10 to 15% of [her] vocabulary"; she was unable to order information or perform sequential thinking. Bank had to stop writing the book during this period.
Finally published in 1999, The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing was a bestseller in both the United States and the United Kingdom, garnering mostly positive reviews. The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Bank writes like John Cheever
John Cheever
John William Cheever was an American novelist and short story writer. He is sometimes called "the Chekhov of the suburbs." His fiction is mostly set in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Westchester suburbs, old New England villages based on various South Shore towns around Quincy,...
, but funnier." Newsweek critic Yahlin Chang wrote, "Bank draws exquisite portraits of loneliness, and she can do it in a sentence." Others placed Ms. Bank in the school of restraint exemplified by Hemingway
Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway was an American writer and journalist.Hemingway may also refer to:*Hemingway , a surname and list of people with that name*Hemingway , a Marvel Comics character*Hemingway, South Carolina...
and Raymond Carver
Raymond Carver
Raymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
.
Bank has published short stories and nonfiction in such publications as the Chicago Tribune, Ploughshares, Zoetrope, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Seventeen, as well as been broadcast on National Public Radio and the BBC.
Bank divides her time between New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and East Hampton
East Hampton (village), New York
The Village of East Hampton is a village in Town of East Hampton, New York. It is located in Suffolk County, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island...
.