Will Weaver, is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 author.

Background

Weaver was raised on a dairy farm near Park Rapids, Minnesota

Park Rapids, Minnesota

As of the census of 2000, there were 3,276 people, 1,476 households, and 788 families residing in the city. The population density was 547.5 people per square mile . There were 1,616 housing units at an average density of 270.1 per square mile...

, where his parents, who were of Scandinavian descent, farmed 150 acres. In Weaver's youth, he enjoyed fishing and participating in sports (he was the captain of his high school basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 team). At 16 years of age, he once finished second in a demolition derby

Demolition derby

Demolition derby is a motorsport usually presented at county fairs and festivals. While rules vary from event to event, the typical demolition derby event consists of five or more drivers competing by deliberately ramming their vehicles into one another...

. One of three children, he attended the local country school. Weaver attended Saint Cloud State University, 1968–69; University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

, B.A., 1972; Stanford University

Stanford University

The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...

, M.A., 1979.

Career

His debut was Red Earth, White Earth, about a native Minnesotan returning to his home town due to conflicts between white farmers and local Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

s. It was made into a CBS-TV movie in 1989. His 1989 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 collection, A Gravestone Made of Wheat and Other Stories, won many awards, including the Minnesota Book Award for Fiction

Fiction

Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...

. The title story was produced in 2006 as the independent feature film Sweet Land

Sweet Land

Sweet Land is a 2005 American independent period drama film written and directed by Ali Selim. It is an adaptation of the 1989 short story "A Gravestone Made of Wheat" by Will Weaver...

, featuring Ned Beatty

Ned Beatty

Ned Thomas Beatty is an American actor who has appeared in more than 100 films and has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and a Golden Globe Award; won a Drama Desk Award....

.

Weaver has also written many stories for young adult

Youth

Youth is the time of life between childhood and adulthood . Definitions of the specific age range that constitutes youth vary. An individual's actual maturity may not correspond to their chronological age, as immature individuals could exist at all ages.-Usage:Around the world, the terms "youth",...

s, including the Billy Baggs baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 novels. These include Striking Out, Farm Team, and Hard Ball. He has also written Memory Boy, Claws, Full Service, and Defect. Saturday Night Dirt, the first of a series on dirt-racers, was released in 2008 followed by Super Stock Rookie. He is the winner of both the McKnight Foundation

McKnight Foundation

The McKnight Foundation is a philanthropic organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States. The foundation's interests lie in the environment, the arts, community development, and other areas....

 and the Bush Foundation

Bush Foundation

The Bush Foundation was created in 1953 by Archibald Granville Bush an American businessman primarily involved with 3M and his wife, Edyth Bassler Bush. The organization awards $40 million a year to philanthropic organizations, primarily located in Minnesota and the Upper Midwest....

  prizes for fiction.

In addition to writing, Weaver became a creative-writing teacher at Bemidji State University

Bemidji State University

Bemidji State University is a public state university in Bemidji, Minnesota, USA, located on the shores of Lake Bemidji. It is a part of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities .-History:BSU was founded in 1919 as Bemidji State Normal School...

 in Bemidji, Minnesota

Bemidji, Minnesota

Bemidji is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was at 13,431 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beltrami County. Bemidji is the most major city in North Central Minnesota and the largest commercial center between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth,...

. He resides in the Bemidji area with his wife Rose, who is currently a professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

 at Bemidji State, and his teenage children.

Novels and novellas

• Checkered Flag Cheater (2010)
• Super Stock Rookie (2009)
• Saturday Night Dirt (2008)
• Defect (2007)
• Full Service (2005)
• Claws (2003)
• Memory Boy (2001)
• Hard Ball (1998)
• Farm Team (1995)
• Striking Out (1993)
• Red Earth, White Earth (1986)

Short story collections

• Sweet Land (2006)
• A Gravestone Made of Wheat and Other Stories (1989)

External links

• Will Weaver Official Website.