Benjamin Anastas
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Anastas is an American novelist, journalist and critic born in Gloucester, Massachusetts
.
Anastas started publishing his short fiction while a graduate student at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. His first novel An Underachiever's Diary has been called "the funniest, most underappreciated book of the 1990s" and is a generous-hearted send-up of Cambridge, Massachusetts
in the 1970s. Daniel Handler
called Anastas's second novel The Faithful Narrative of a Pastor's Disappearance "hands down, the best novel of the year" in 2001 and it was a New York Times Notable Book.
Anastas's fiction, criticism, essays and journalism have appeared in Story, GQ, The Paris Review, The New Republic online, The New York Observer, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and Bookforum
. In 2005 he was awarded the Smart Family Fiction Prize from The Yale Review
for his novella Versace Enthroned with Saints Margaret, Jerome, Alex and the Angel Donatella.
More recently, Anastas has published articles on the 2012 hoax in The New York Times Magazine, the prosperity gospel in Harper's Magazine
and a short piece about his father's nude portrait on Granta
s website.
He has been awarded fellowships by the Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities, the MacDowell Colony
and the Lannan Foundation
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
.
Anastas started publishing his short fiction while a graduate student at the Iowa Writer's Workshop. His first novel An Underachiever's Diary has been called "the funniest, most underappreciated book of the 1990s" and is a generous-hearted send-up of Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in the 1970s. Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler
Daniel Handler is an American author, screenwriter and accordionist. He is best known for his work under the pen name Lemony Snicket.-Personal life:...
called Anastas's second novel The Faithful Narrative of a Pastor's Disappearance "hands down, the best novel of the year" in 2001 and it was a New York Times Notable Book.
Anastas's fiction, criticism, essays and journalism have appeared in Story, GQ, The Paris Review, The New Republic online, The New York Observer, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, and Bookforum
Bookforum
Bookforum is a New York-based magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. It is edited by Albert Mobilio, Chris Lehmann, , and Michael Miller.-History: Bookforum was launched in 1994 as a literary supplement to Artforum...
. In 2005 he was awarded the Smart Family Fiction Prize from The Yale Review
The Yale Review
The Yale Review is the self-proclaimed oldest literary quarterly in the United States. It is published by Yale University.It was founded originally in 1819 as The Christian Spectator. At its origin it was published to support Evangelicalism, but over time began to publish more on history and...
for his novella Versace Enthroned with Saints Margaret, Jerome, Alex and the Angel Donatella.
More recently, Anastas has published articles on the 2012 hoax in The New York Times Magazine, the prosperity gospel in Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
and a short piece about his father's nude portrait on Granta
Granta
Granta is a literary magazine and publisher in the United Kingdom whose mission centers on its "belief in the power and urgency of the story, both in fiction and non-fiction, and the story’s supreme ability to describe, illuminate and make real." In 2007, The Observer stated, "In its blend of...
s website.
He has been awarded fellowships by the Liguria Study Center for the Arts and Humanities, the MacDowell Colony
MacDowell Colony
The MacDowell Colony is an art colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire, U.S.A., founded in 1907 by Marian MacDowell, pianist and wife of composer Edward MacDowell. She established the institution and its endowment chiefly with donated funds...
and the Lannan Foundation