Gina Berriault
Encyclopedia
Gina Berriault was an American
novelist and short story writer.
Berriault was born in Long Beach, California, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. Her father was a freelance writer and Berriault took her inspiration from him, using his stand-up typewriter to write her first stories while still in grammar school.
Berriault had a prolific writing career, which included stories, novels and screenplays. Her writing tended to focus on life in and around San Francisco. She published four novels and three collections of short stories, including Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories
(1996), which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award
and the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award. In 1997 Berriault was chosen as winner of the Rea Award for the Short Story
, for outstanding achievement in that genre.
Berriault taught writing at the Iowa Writer's Workshop and San Francisco State University. She also received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Ingram-Merrill Fellowship, a Commonwealth Gold Medal for Literature, the Pushcart Prize and several O'Henry prizes.
She adapted her short story "The Stone Boy" for a film of the same title
, released in 1984. The same story had previously been adapted by another writer for a 1960 television presentation.
Berriault died in 1999, at age 73, at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, California
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and short story writer.
Berriault was born in Long Beach, California, to Russian-Jewish immigrant parents. Her father was a freelance writer and Berriault took her inspiration from him, using his stand-up typewriter to write her first stories while still in grammar school.
Berriault had a prolific writing career, which included stories, novels and screenplays. Her writing tended to focus on life in and around San Francisco. She published four novels and three collections of short stories, including Women in Their Beds: New & Selected Stories
Women in Their Beds
Women in Their Beds is a short story collection by Gina Berriault. It received the 1996 National Book Critics Circle Award and the 1997 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction....
(1996), which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, the National Book Critics Circle Award
National Book Critics Circle Award
The National Book Critics Circle Award is an annual award given by the National Book Critics Circle to promote the finest books and reviews published in English....
and the Bay Area Book Reviewers Award. In 1997 Berriault was chosen as winner of the Rea Award for the Short Story
Rea Award for the Short Story
The Rea Award for the Short Story is an annual award given to a living American or Canadian author chosen for unusually significant contributions to short story fiction.-The Award:...
, for outstanding achievement in that genre.
Berriault taught writing at the Iowa Writer's Workshop and San Francisco State University. She also received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, a Guggenheim Fellowship, an Ingram-Merrill Fellowship, a Commonwealth Gold Medal for Literature, the Pushcart Prize and several O'Henry prizes.
She adapted her short story "The Stone Boy" for a film of the same title
The Stone Boy
The Stone Boy is a 1984 film directed by Christopher Cain, and is based on the 1957 short story, "The Stone Boy," by the American author Gina Berriault....
, released in 1984. The same story had previously been adapted by another writer for a 1960 television presentation.
Berriault died in 1999, at age 73, at Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae, California
Greenbrae, California
Greenbrae is a small community in Marin County, California. It is located south-southeast of downtown San Rafael, at an elevation of 33 feet , located adjacent to U.S. Route 101 at the opening of the Ross Valley. Part of Greenbrae is an unincorporated community of the county while the remaining...
.