Robert Halsall Abel is an American short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 writer, and novelist.

Life

Robert Halsall Abel was born on May 27, 1941 in Painesville, Ohio. His father was Robert H. and he was a textile worker and his mother was Lora Constance (Logan) and she was a bus driver.

He graduated from College of Wooster cum laude in 1964 with a B.A., Kansas State University

Kansas State University

Kansas State University, commonly shortened to K-State, is an institution of higher learning located in Manhattan, Kansas, in the United States...

 with a M.A. in 1967, and the University of Massachusetts

University of Massachusetts Amherst

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...

, with an MFA in 1974.

He is married to Joyce Keeler, and has three children:Sarah, Charles, and Robert.

In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.

His work appeared in Colorado Review

Colorado Review

Colorado Review is a major American literary journal published by the Center for Literary Publishing at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.The journal presents the annual Nelligan Prize for Short Fiction...

, Dim Sum, Glimmer Train

Glimmer Train

Glimmer Train is an American literary journal founded in 1990 in Portland, Oregon. It is published quarterly.-Past contributors:* Brad Barkley* Charles Baxter* Ron Carlson* Greg Downs* Peter Selgin* Andre Dubus III* Aaron Gwyn* Noy Holland...

, Manoa

Manoa (journal)

Mānoa is a literary journal that includes American and international fiction, poetry, artwork, interviews, and essays of current cultural or literary interest. A notable feature of each issue is original translations of contemporary work from Asian and Pacific nations, selected for each issue by a...

, The Massachusetts Review

The Massachusetts Review

The Massachusetts Review is a national literary journal founded in 1959 by a group of professors from Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst....

, Mind's Eye, and Writers' Forum

Writers' Forum

Writers' Forum is a American literary magazine founded by Alexander Blackburn in 1974 and based at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. -Other Awards:Stories that appeared in Writers' Forum received "honorable mention" for the O...

.

He is a member of the Authors Guild.

He lives in North Hadley, Massachusetts

Hadley, Massachusetts

Hadley is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts. The population was 4,793 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area around Hampshire Mall and Mountain Farms Mall along Route 9 is a major shopping destination for the surrounding...

.

Awards

• 1991 Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction
  Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction
  The Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction is an annual prize awarded by the University of Georgia Press named in honor of the American short story writer and novelist Flannery O'Connor....
  
  
• 1978 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...
  
  Creative Writing Fellowship

Works

• "An Incident in Hohhot", Mind Sprocket, October 9, 2007

(reprint: Soho Press October 2002) (reprint 1980)

External links

• "Author's website"