Steve Almond
Steve Almond | |
---|---|
Steve Almond in 2009 | |
Born |
October 27, 1966 (age 50) California, United States |
Occupation | Writer, essayist |
Nationality | American |
Website | |
stevealmondjoy |
Steve Almond (born October 27, 1966)[1] is an American short-story writer, essayist[2] and author of ten books, three of which are self-published.[3]
Life
Almond was raised in Palo Alto, California, graduated from Henry M. Gunn High School and received his undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University. He spent seven years as a newspaper reporter, mostly in El Paso and at the Miami New Times.
Almond lives in Arlington, Massachusetts with his wife and three children.
Literary work
Almond's 2014 book Against Football, which documents his growing disillusionment with football, derived from two pieces written for the New York Times.[4][5] Almond's second book, Candyfreak (2005) was a New York Times bestseller and won the American Library Association Alex Award and was named the Booksense Adult Nonfiction Book of the Year.
Almond's books have been published in half a dozen foreign countries and translated into German, Dutch, Spanish, and Croatian. He has published more than 150 stories in magazines such as Tin House, Playboy, Zoetrope, and Ploughshares. His story "Donkey Greedy, Donkey Gets Punched" was selected for The Best American Short Stories 2010 and has been optioned for film by Spilt Milk Entertainment.[6][7]
Two of his stories were published in The Pushcart Prize. His essays and journalism have appeared in venues such as The New York Times Magazine, GQ, The Wall Street Journal, Poets & Writers, and Real Simple. His stories and essays have appeared in dozens of anthologies. Almond also reviews books for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and the Los Angeles Times. He regularly teaches at Grub Street in Boston, at the Sanibel Writer's Conference, and the Tin House Writer's Conference.
Teaching
Almond teaches non-fiction to fellows in the Nieman Fellowship program, based in Cambridge, MA.[8]
Political activities
Almond served as adjunct professor in creative writing at Boston College for five years until publishing an open letter of resignation in The Boston Globe on May 12, 2006, in which he explained that his resignation was intended to protest the selection of Condoleezza Rice as the college's 2006 commencement guest speaker. He later appeared on the Hannity & Colmes show on Fox News to discuss his decision. Almond is a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine's Riff section, and to the literary website The Rumpus, where he writes frequently about the intersection of morality and politics titled "The Week in Greed."[9]
Self-publishing
After a decade of working with traditional publishers, Almond has self-published three books in recent years and become an outspoken advocate of self-publishing, which he has written about extensively in the Los Angeles Times,[10] Poets & Writers, and The Rumpus.[11]
Steve was a contributing writer to Alarm Clock Theatre Company's Elliot Norton Award winning play PS Page Me Later based on selections from Found Magazine.
Radio and podcast
Almond is a regular correspondent on NPR's Here & Now and on WGBH, both based in Boston. On October 27, 2011, Almond appeared as a guest on the podcast WTF with Marc Maron.[12] Almond also hosted a live interview podcast series with Hallelujah the Hills band leader Ryan Walsh entitled "This Has Been A Disaster – Thanks For Having Us."[13] During an interview with Newsmax TV on January 28, 2014, Almond encouraged the public to join him in boycotting the Super Bowl because of the risks involved to the players, with respect to brain injuries.[14] Almond currently co-hosts Dear Sugar Radio with Cheryl Strayed.[15]
Bibliography
Short stories
- My Life in Heavy Metal, Atlantic/Grove; Random House UK; Verlag Kiepenheuer & Witsch Germany, Fokus Komunikacije Croatia, 2002
- The Evil B.B. Chow and Other Stories, Algonquin Books, 2005
- God Bless America: Stories, Lookout Press, 2011
- Writs of Passion, DIY or Die Press, 2013.
Nonfiction
- Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America, Algonquin Books, 2004.
- (Not That You Asked) Rants, Exploits and Obsessions, Random House, September 11, 2007.
- Letters from People Who Hate Me, DIY or Die Press, self-published with Espresso Book Machine, 2010.
- Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, Random House, 2010.
- This Won't Take But a Minute, Honey, self-published.
- Bad Poetry, DIY or Die Press.
- Against Football: One Fan's Reluctant Manifesto, Melville House Publishing, 2014.[16]
Coauthor
- Which Brings Me to You: A Novel in Confessions (with Julianna Baggott), Algonquin Books, 2006
References
- ↑ Almond, Steve (2007). Not That You Asked. pp. 107–7.
- ↑ Almond, Steve (October 23, 2005). "Confessions of a playboy". Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ Therumpus.net
- ↑ The New York Times
- ↑ The New York Times
- ↑ Boston.com
- ↑ Los Angeles Times
- ↑ Niemanstoryboard.org
- ↑ Therumpus.net
- ↑ Los Angeles Times
- ↑ Therumpus.net
- ↑ Wtfpod.libsyn.com
- ↑ YouTube
- ↑ Hoffmann, Bill. "Author Steve Almond: Boycott Super Bowl Over Player Risks Of Brain Damage". Interview. Newsmax TV. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
- ↑ WBUR.org
- ↑ Againstfootball.org
External links
- Official website
- August 2003 Interview
- Boston College resignation letter
- Op-ed piece in The Boston Globe
- Video of Steve Almond interview on Fox television show RedEye
- Midnight on Them Spurs
- The Problem of Human Consumption
- Skull