When you think sharp-edged short stories, think Molly Giles. Want to read a contemporary, tightly structured tale? Pick up Molly Giles. Need a story with heart and soul and commonplace people? Read Molly Giles. She has earned a solid reputation as one of our best contemporary short story writers hands down. Or, make that pencils down.
She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Rough Translations, her first story collection published in 1985. Add the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the California Book Award for Fiction, and the Small Press Best Fiction/Short Story Award and you have a brilliant and modest writer widely recognized by literary readers. Creek Walk and Other Stories published in 1997 and her first novel Iron Shoes in 2000, seal her reputation for elegant prose and fully dimensional characters.
Not only is Molly Giles a master storyteller but also a master teacher. She has taught at San Francisco State University and the University of Arkansas. At both universities, her classes filled to capacity and generated a backlog of students ready to sit in the hallway to participate.
Throughout her career Giles has sought a balance between teaching and writing, explaining “its always a struggle” to do both. She compares teaching to a performance whereas she sees writing as an isolated activity involving scribbling and revising and rewriting and repeating the process. When asked, Giles admits to loving both activities. She’s equally adept at teaching and writing.
Giles holds a masters degree in English. Currently she lives in California.
USE AS SIDEBAR:
On Thursday, Sept. 5, Giles will be at the Fayetteville Public Library for a full-day craft workshop for beginning and advanced writers. This workshop meets in the Storytime Room 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Registration is required with a $10 fee and includes lunch. Participants are encouraged to bring a one page writing sample. For further information www.truelitfest.com/Authors.
Favorite Daughter Molly Giles Returns to FPL
When you think sharp-edged short stories, think Molly Giles. Want to read a contemporary, tightly structured tale? Pick up Molly Giles. Need a story with heart and soul and commonplace people? Read Molly Giles. She has earned a solid reputation as one of our best contemporary short story writers hands down. Or, make that pencils down.
She was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Rough Translations, her first story collection published in 1985. Add the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the California Book Award for Fiction, and the Small Press Best Fiction/Short Story Award and you have a brilliant and modest writer widely recognized by literary readers. Creek Walk and Other Stories published in 1997 and her first novel Iron Shoes in 2000, seal her reputation for elegant prose and fully dimensional characters.
Throughout her career Giles has sought a balance between teaching and writing, explaining “its always a struggle” to do both. She compares teaching to a performance whereas she sees writing as an isolated activity involving scribbling and revising and rewriting and repeating the process. When asked, Giles admits to loving both activities. She’s equally adept at teaching and writing.
Giles holds a masters degree in English. Currently she lives in California.
USE AS SIDEBAR:
On Thursday, Sept. 5, Giles will be at the Fayetteville Public Library for a full-day craft workshop for beginning and advanced writers. This workshop meets in the Storytime Room 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Registration is required with a $10 fee and includes lunch. Participants are encouraged to bring a one page writing sample. For further information www.truelitfest.com/Authors.