Josh Emmons
Encyclopedia
Josh Emmons is an American novelist who currently lives in Philadelphia. A graduate of Oberlin College
and the Iowa Writers' Workshop
(2002), he published his first book, The Loss of Leon Meed, in 2005. Set in his native northern California, about the varied responses of ten small-town residents to a stranger's mysterious appearances and disappearances, it was a Book Sense
pick and winner of a James Michener
-Copernicus Society of America Award, and has been translated into several languages. His second, Prescription for a Superior Existence, which explores the intersections of faith, religion and desire, came out in 2008. His fiction and non-fiction have been published in various magazines and newspapers.
Emmons has taught at the University of the Arts
, Loyola University Chicago
, the University of Iowa
, Whitman College
, and elsewhere. He currently teaches at Grinnell College
in Iowa
.
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
and the Iowa Writers' Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
(2002), he published his first book, The Loss of Leon Meed, in 2005. Set in his native northern California, about the varied responses of ten small-town residents to a stranger's mysterious appearances and disappearances, it was a Book Sense
Book Sense
Book Sense was a marketing and branding program of the American Booksellers Association, in which many independent bookstores across North America participated in order to better compete with the large book chains. Bookstores participating in the Book Sense program were expected to display the Book...
pick and winner of a James Michener
James A. Michener
James Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
-Copernicus Society of America Award, and has been translated into several languages. His second, Prescription for a Superior Existence, which explores the intersections of faith, religion and desire, came out in 2008. His fiction and non-fiction have been published in various magazines and newspapers.
Emmons has taught at the University of the Arts
University of the Arts (Philadelphia)
The University of the Arts is one of the United States' oldest universities dedicated to the arts. Its campus makes up part of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City, Philadelphia...
, Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago
Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...
, the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
, Whitman College
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private, co-educational, non-sectarian, residential undergraduate liberal arts college located in Walla Walla, Washington. Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859, the school became a four year degree granting institution in 1883...
, and elsewhere. He currently teaches at Grinnell College
Grinnell College
Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, U.S. known for its strong tradition of social activism. It was founded in 1846, when a group of pioneer New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College....
in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
.
Novels
- Prescription for a Superior Existence (Scribner, 2008)
- The Loss of Leon Meed (Scribner, 2005)
Honors
- New York Times Noteworthy Paperback
- PEN Writer's Grant
- James Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award
- Book Sense Pick
External links
- Simon & Schuster profile http://www.simonsays.com/content/destination.cfm?tab=3&pid=500172
- "Living With Music: A Playlist" http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/10/01/living-with-music-a-playlist-by-josh-emmons/ on The New York Times PaperCuts blog
- Essay on Esquire.com http://www.esquire.com/fiction/lastline011408
- "Concord" http://www.fivechapters.com/concord/index_full.php, a short story on FiveChapters
- Interview at EarthGoat http://earthgoat.blogspot.com/2008/07/josh-emmons-interview.html
- Interview at Philadelphia Stories magazine [6
]