Author Biography
Jennifer Egan was born in Chicago on September 7, 1962. After the divorce of her parents, Egan moved with her mother to San Francisco, where she would later set the premise of her novels, Look at Me and A Visit From the Goon Squad. For her education, Egan received her English Literature degree from University of Pennsylvania and St. John’s College in Cambridge. She knew in her first year of college that she wanted to become a writer, and she followed through. Her writing career began in magazines such as The New Yorker and GQ. Her first novel, The Invisible Circus, was published in 1995, and was received very positively. she then published a collection of short stories titled Emerald City and Other Stories, followed by another novel, Look at Me. After her success in fiction, she began to write for The New York Times Magazine, covering a couple of stories a year ranging “from the secret life of gay marines to the difficult treatment of bipolar disorder in children” (Whiteman). She receied the Carroll Kowal Journalism Award for an article on youth homelessness, as well as a NAMI Outstanding Media Award for Science and Health Reporting from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2009.
A Visit From The Goon Squad came into being from a sudden thought in Jennifer Egan’s mind one day as she observed a lone wallet at a hotel: “What would happen if I reached out and just took it?”. And thus the character of Sasha, the kleptomaniac, was created. Though the book originally began as a collection of short stories surrounding disconnected characters, it soon blossomed into the novel it is today (Gallagher). Jennifer Egan has received several awards for A Visit From the Goon Squad, and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2011. The book won the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, and the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. These awards have caused Egan’s publicity to soar and has changed her entire literary career. When asked how winning the award affected her personally, Egan comments that “the biggest difference is you get asked that question a lot” (Whiteman).
Jennifer Egan currently lives in Brooklyn and continues to write both in journalism and fiction.
Works Cited
Bosman, Julie. “Deborah Eisenberg Wins PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.” New York Times 15 Mar. 2011. Print. 5 May 2015.
Gallagher, Paul. “Interview: Jennifer Egan on A Visit From the Goon Squad.” Scottish Book Trust. Scottish Book Trust, 1 May 2012. Web. 5 May 2015.
“Photos/Bio.” Jennifer Egan. n.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2015.
Whiteman, Sean. “Surprises Are Always the Best.” The Pennsylvania Gazette Aug. 2011: 44-46. Print.
Jennifer Egan was born in Chicago on September 7, 1962. After the divorce of her parents, Egan moved with her mother to San Francisco, where she would later set the premise of her novels, Look at Me and A Visit From the Goon Squad. For her education, Egan received her English Literature degree from University of Pennsylvania and St. John’s College in Cambridge. She knew in her first year of college that she wanted to become a writer, and she followed through. Her writing career began in magazines such as The New Yorker and GQ. Her first novel, The Invisible Circus, was published in 1995, and was received very positively. she then published a collection of short stories titled Emerald City and Other Stories, followed by another novel, Look at Me. After her success in fiction, she began to write for The New York Times Magazine, covering a couple of stories a year ranging “from the secret life of gay marines to the difficult treatment of bipolar disorder in children” (Whiteman). She receied the Carroll Kowal Journalism Award for an article on youth homelessness, as well as a NAMI Outstanding Media Award for Science and Health Reporting from the National Alliance on Mental Illness in 2009.
A Visit From The Goon Squad came into being from a sudden thought in Jennifer Egan’s mind one day as she observed a lone wallet at a hotel: “What would happen if I reached out and just took it?”. And thus the character of Sasha, the kleptomaniac, was created. Though the book originally began as a collection of short stories surrounding disconnected characters, it soon blossomed into the novel it is today (Gallagher). Jennifer Egan has received several awards for A Visit From the Goon Squad, and was a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award in 2011. The book won the 2010 National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction, and the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. These awards have caused Egan’s publicity to soar and has changed her entire literary career. When asked how winning the award affected her personally, Egan comments that “the biggest difference is you get asked that question a lot” (Whiteman).
Jennifer Egan currently lives in Brooklyn and continues to write both in journalism and fiction.
Works Cited
Bosman, Julie. “Deborah Eisenberg Wins PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.” New York Times 15 Mar. 2011. Print. 5 May 2015.
Gallagher, Paul. “Interview: Jennifer Egan on A Visit From the Goon Squad.” Scottish Book Trust. Scottish Book Trust, 1 May 2012. Web. 5 May 2015.
“Photos/Bio.” Jennifer Egan. n.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2015.
Whiteman, Sean. “Surprises Are Always the Best.” The Pennsylvania Gazette Aug. 2011: 44-46. Print.