Michael Thomas (author)
Encyclopedia
Michael Thomas is an American
author. He won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
for his debut novel
Man Gone Down
, receiving a prize of €
100,000. Man Gone Down is also recommended by The New York Times
.
. He studied for a bachelor's degree at Hunter College
in New York City
, where he now teaches, and for a master's at Warren Wilson College
. He currently lives in New York
, claiming to have never had a proper job although he has worked in several areas, including bars, restaurants, construction, pizza delivery
, on film sets and driving a taxi
. Thomas is married and lives with his wife and three children in Brooklyn
.
85,000, US$
140,000). Thomas was the third author to win with a debut novel, following Andrew Miller
's Ingenious Pain
(1999) and Rawi Hage
's De Niro's Game
(2007).
The book was praised by the judges, who included James Ryan
, for its "energy and warmth" and for being "tuned urgently to the way we live now". Thomas said he had been "feeling a little desperate" during the writing of it. Man Gone Down beat an international longlist of 147 titles from 41 countries, as well as seven other shortlisted nominations such as The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by Junot Diaz
and The Reluctant Fundamentalist
by Mohsin Hamid
, as well as novels by established authors such as Doris Lessing
, Joyce Carol Oates
and Philip Roth
. It was nominated by the National Library Service of Barbados
. In 2007, Man Gone Down was named in the top ten of a list by The New York Times
.
Thomas attended the prize ceremony in Dublin, saying he was "stunned" and "still waiting for the punch line". He expressed his disbelief that he had even made the shortlist – "or the longlist, for that matter". He expects to "pay some bills" with the money as well as "a mortgage, a half-built house".
The novel deals with an African-American man who is estranged from his white wife and their children. He must come up with a sum of money within four days to have them returned. It focuses on an attempt to achieve the American Dream
. Thomas describes Man Gone Down as having a "gallows humour". Thomas is currently working on his second book, intended to be non-fiction.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author. He won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is an international literary award for a work of fiction, jointly sponsored by the city of Dublin, Ireland and the company IMPAC. At €100,000 it is one of the richest literary prizes in the world...
for his debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
Man Gone Down
Man Gone Down
Man Gone Down is the debut novel of U.S. author Michael Thomas. It won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, with Thomas receiving a prize of €100,000...
, receiving a prize of €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
100,000. Man Gone Down is also recommended by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Early and personal life
Thomas was born and raised in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. He studied for a bachelor's degree at Hunter College
Hunter College
Hunter College, established in 1870, is a public university and one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York, located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Hunter grants undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate degrees in more than one hundred fields of study, and is recognized...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he now teaches, and for a master's at Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson College
Warren Wilson College is a private four-year work college in the Swannanoa Valley, North Carolina, United States near Asheville. It is known for its curriculum of work, academics, and service, called "the Triad," which requires every student to work an on-campus job, perform at least one hundred...
. He currently lives in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, claiming to have never had a proper job although he has worked in several areas, including bars, restaurants, construction, pizza delivery
Pizza delivery
Pizza delivery is a service in which a pizzeria delivers a pizza to a customer. Delivery is normally made with an automobile, motor scooter, or bicycle.- Ordering :...
, on film sets and driving a taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
. Thomas is married and lives with his wife and three children in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
.
Writing career
Prior to his international success as a novelist, Thomas wrote poetry and performed in the capacity of a singer-songwriter. Later, whilst attending graduate school, he studied a fiction program, with his thesis being a collection of short stories. One of these short stories became his debut novel.Man Gone Down
Thomas's debut novel, Man Gone Down, won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award on 11 June 2009. The prize, which is the richest literary award in the world (apart from the Nobel Prize in Literature) and is open to novels written in all languages, was €100,000 (£Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
85,000, US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
140,000). Thomas was the third author to win with a debut novel, following Andrew Miller
Andrew Miller
-Sports:* Andrew Miller , pitcher for the Boston Red Sox* Andrew Miller , cricketer for Oxford University and Middlesex* Andrew Miller , Canadian professional ice hockey player...
's Ingenious Pain
Ingenious Pain
Ingenious Pain is the first novel by English author, Andrew Miller, released on 20th February 1997 through Sceptre. The novel received universal acclaim and won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction, the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Italian Premio Grinzane Cavour...
(1999) and Rawi Hage
Rawi Hage
-Early life and education:Born in Beirut, Hage grew up in Lebanon and Cyprus. He moved to New York City in 1984. In 1991, he relocated to Montreal, where he studied Photography at Dawson College and Fine Arts at Concordia University. He subsequently began exhibiting as a photographer, and has had...
's De Niro's Game
De Niro's Game
De Niro's Game is the debut novel by Lebanese-Canadian writer Rawi Hage, originally published in 2006.The novel's primary characters are Bassam and George, lifelong friends living in wartorn Beirut...
(2007).
The book was praised by the judges, who included James Ryan
James Ryan
James Ryan was an Irish politician. He was elected to the First Dáil at the 1918 general election and, apart from the Third Dáil , held his seat for Wexford until his retirement at the 1965 general election...
, for its "energy and warmth" and for being "tuned urgently to the way we live now". Thomas said he had been "feeling a little desperate" during the writing of it. Man Gone Down beat an international longlist of 147 titles from 41 countries, as well as seven other shortlisted nominations such as The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a best-selling novel written by Dominican author Junot Díaz. Although a work of fiction, the novel is set in New Jersey where Díaz was raised and deals explicitly with his ancestral homeland's experience under dictator Rafael Trujillo...
by Junot Diaz
Junot Díaz
Junot Díaz is a Dominican-American writer and creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology . Central to Díaz's work is the immigrant experience...
and The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist is a novel by Mohsin Hamid, published in 2007.The novel uses the technique of a frame story, which takes place during the course of a single evening in an outdoor Lahore cafe, where a bearded Pakistani man called Changez tells a nervous American stranger about his love...
by Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid
Mohsin Hamid is a Pakistani author best known for his novels Moth Smoke and The Reluctant Fundamentalist .- Biography :...
, as well as novels by established authors such as Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing
Doris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
, Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
and Philip Roth
Philip Roth
Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
. It was nominated by the National Library Service of Barbados
National Library Service of Barbados
The National Library Service of Barbados is the government supported public-library service in the nation of Barbados. Headquartered in the capital-city Bridgetown, the main branch is found on Coleridge Street...
. In 2007, Man Gone Down was named in the top ten of a list by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Thomas attended the prize ceremony in Dublin, saying he was "stunned" and "still waiting for the punch line". He expressed his disbelief that he had even made the shortlist – "or the longlist, for that matter". He expects to "pay some bills" with the money as well as "a mortgage, a half-built house".
The novel deals with an African-American man who is estranged from his white wife and their children. He must come up with a sum of money within four days to have them returned. It focuses on an attempt to achieve the American Dream
American Dream
The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States in which freedom includes a promise of the possibility of prosperity and success. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each...
. Thomas describes Man Gone Down as having a "gallows humour". Thomas is currently working on his second book, intended to be non-fiction.