Joshua Ferris
Encyclopedia
Joshua Ferris is an American author best known for his debut 2007 novel Then We Came to the End
. The book is a comedy about the American workplace, told in the first-person plural. It takes place in a fictitious Chicago
ad agency that is experiencing a downturn at the end of the '90s Internet boom.
Joshua Ferris graduated from the University of Iowa
with a BA
in English and Philosophy in 1996. He then moved to Chicago
and worked in advertising for several years before obtaining an MFA
in writing from UC Irvine. His first published story, "Mrs. Blue", appeared in the Iowa Review in 1999. Then We Came to the End
has been greeted by positive reviews from The New York Times Book Review
, The New Yorker
, Esquire
, and Slate
, has been published in twenty-five languages, was a finalist for the National Book Award
, and received the 2007 PEN/Hemingway Award.
The New Yorker published a short story written by Ferris, entitled "The Dinner Party", in August 2008. This story made him a nominee for the Shirley Jackson Awards. Another story, entitled "A Night Out", will be published in Tin House
s tenth anniversary issue. Other short fiction has appeared in Best New American Voices 2007 and New Stories from the South 2007. His nonfiction has appeared in the anthologies State by State and Heavy Rotation. The New Yorker included him in their 2010 "20 Under 40" list.
His new novel The Unnamed was published in January 2010. Fiametta Rocco, Editor of Books and Arts at The Economist
, called it "the best new novel I have read in the past ten years".
Joshua Ferris lives in New York.
Then We Came to the End
Then We Came to the End is the first novel by Joshua Ferris. It was released by Little, Brown and Company on March 1, 2007. A satire of the American workplace, it is similar in tone to Don DeLillo's Americana, even borrowing DeLillo's first line for its title.It takes place in a Chicago...
. The book is a comedy about the American workplace, told in the first-person plural. It takes place in a fictitious Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
ad agency that is experiencing a downturn at the end of the '90s Internet boom.
Joshua Ferris graduated from 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...
with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English and Philosophy in 1996. He then moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and worked in advertising for several years before obtaining an MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
in writing from UC Irvine. His first published story, "Mrs. Blue", appeared in the Iowa Review in 1999. Then We Came to the End
Then We Came to the End
Then We Came to the End is the first novel by Joshua Ferris. It was released by Little, Brown and Company on March 1, 2007. A satire of the American workplace, it is similar in tone to Don DeLillo's Americana, even borrowing DeLillo's first line for its title.It takes place in a Chicago...
has been greeted by positive reviews from The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
, The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, and Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
, has been published in twenty-five languages, was a finalist for the National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
, and received the 2007 PEN/Hemingway Award.
The New Yorker published a short story written by Ferris, entitled "The Dinner Party", in August 2008. This story made him a nominee for the Shirley Jackson Awards. Another story, entitled "A Night Out", will be published in Tin House
Tin House
Tin House is an American literary magazine and book publisher based in Portland, Oregon and New York City. The Tin House magazine was conceived in the summer of 1998 by Portland publisher Win McCormack. He envisioned a journal that would be graphically appealing and free of the stale substance...
s tenth anniversary issue. Other short fiction has appeared in Best New American Voices 2007 and New Stories from the South 2007. His nonfiction has appeared in the anthologies State by State and Heavy Rotation. The New Yorker included him in their 2010 "20 Under 40" list.
His new novel The Unnamed was published in January 2010. Fiametta Rocco, Editor of Books and Arts at The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, called it "the best new novel I have read in the past ten years".
Joshua Ferris lives in New York.
Short Stories
- "Mrs. Blue", Iowa Review 29.2 (Fall 1999)
- "Ghost Town Choir", Prairie Schooner 80.3 (Fall 2006)
- "It Would Be Life--", Phoebe (2007)
- "Uncertainty", Tin House 34 (Dead of Winter Issue)
- "More Afraid of You", Granta 101 (Spring 2008)
- "The Dinner Party", The New Yorker, 11 Aug 2008
- "The Valetudinarian", The New Yorker, 3 Aug 2009
- "A Night Out", Tin House 40 (10th Anniversary Issue)
- "The Unnamed", Granta 109 (Winter 2009)] [novel excerpt]
- "The Pilot", The New Yorker, June 14 & 21, 2010
Essays
- "Nine to Five", "The Guardian" (2007)
- "The World According to Wallace", "The Guardian" (2008)
External links
- Penguin Books interview (01/2008)
- Powell's Books interview (02/2007)
- Pop Entertainment interview (05/2007)
- New York Times book review (03/2007)
- Guardian Joshua Ferris excerpt (04/2007)
- NPR Radio Interview on Fresh Air
- Guardian Writers' Rooms
- Joshua Ferris on work in American fiction
- The Dinner Party - short story
- Joshua Ferris on David Foster Wallace