Stacy Schiff
Encyclopedia
Stacy Madeleine Schiff is a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
nonfiction author and guest columnist for The New York Times
.
, is a graduate of Phillips Andover Academy preparatory school, and earned her B.A. degree from Williams College
in 1982. She was a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster
until 1990. Her essays and articles have appeared in, among other places, The New Yorker
, The New York Times
and The Times Literary Supplement
. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review, which noted that she has been "regularly praised for both her meticulous scholarship and her witty style." (October 24, 2008)
Schiff has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
and the National Endowment for the Humanities
. and was a Director's Fellow at the New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers.
Schiff won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize
for Vera
, her biography of Vera Nabokov
, wife and muse of Lolita
and Pale Fire
author Vladimir Nabokov
. She was also a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize
for Saint-Exupéry: A Biography about Antoine de Saint Exupéry.
Schiff's A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America won the 2006 George Washington Book Prize. For that book she also received the Ambassador Award in American Studies and the Institut Français’s Gilbert Chinard Prize. In England the book was published under the title Dr. Franklin Goes to France.
Schiff's most recent biography, Cleopatra: A Life, was published by Little Brown in November 2010, reached Number 3 on the New York Times Bestseller List and garnered extraordinary reviews. The Wall Street Journal's critic wrote, "Stacy Schiff does a rare thing; she gives us a book we'd miss if it didn't exist." Rick Riordan declared Cleopatra "impossible to put down;" The New Yorker termed it "a work of literature;" Michael Korda called it "a masterpiece;" Tina Brown declared it read "almost like a novel in its juicy literary flair;" Maureen Dowd found it "captivating;" Simon Winchester predicted the book would become a classic.
Cleopatra won the 2011 PEN / Jacqueline Weld Bogrand Award for distinguished biography. Schiff's early New York Times op-ed on Cleopatra, "Who's Buried in Cleopatra's Tomb?" (April 21, 2009) won an EMMA award for journalistic excellence. To date, Cleopatra has been featured on the following "Best of" lists:
Schiff was awarded a 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
. In 2011 she was named a Library Lion by the New York Public Library
.
Currently a guest columnist at The New York Times
, Schiff resides in New York City
and Edmonton, Alberta.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
nonfiction author and guest columnist for 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...
.
Biography
Schiff, born in Adams, MassachusettsAdams, Massachusetts
Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,485 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, is a graduate of Phillips Andover Academy preparatory school, and earned her B.A. degree from Williams College
Williams College
Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...
in 1982. She was a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
until 1990. Her essays and articles have appeared in, among other places, 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...
, 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...
and The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
. She is a frequent contributor to the New York Times Book Review, which noted that she has been "regularly praised for both her meticulous scholarship and her witty style." (October 24, 2008)
Schiff has received fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Mr. and Mrs. Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died April 26, 1922...
and the National Endowment for the Humanities
National Endowment for the Humanities
The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent federal agency of the United States established by the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965 dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. The NEH is located at...
. and was a Director's Fellow at the New York Public Library's Center for Scholars and Writers.
Schiff won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize
2000 Pulitzer Prize
-Journalism awards:*Public Service:**The Washington Post, notably for the work of Katherine Boo that disclosed wretched neglect and abuse in the city’s group homes for the mentally retarded, which forced officials to acknowledge the conditions and begin reforms....
for Vera
Vera
Vera may refer to:*Vera *Vera Places*Vera, Santa Fe, Argentina**Vera Department, Argentina*Vera, Croatia, a village near Trpinja*Vera, Mozambique*Vera, Almería, Spain*Vera, Oklahoma, United States*Vera, Georgia*Vera, Norway...
, her biography of Vera Nabokov
Vera Nabokov
Véra Nabokova was the wife, muse, editor, and translator of Vladimir Nabokov.-Early life and immigration:...
, wife and muse of Lolita
Lolita
Lolita is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov, first written in English and published in 1955 in Paris and 1958 in New York, and later translated by the author into Russian...
and Pale Fire
Pale Fire
Pale Fire is a novel by Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is presented as a 999-line poem titled "Pale Fire", written by the fictional John Shade, with a foreword and lengthy commentary by a neighbor and academic colleague of the poet. Together these elements form a narrative in which both authors are...
author Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Nabokov
Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov was a multilingual Russian novelist and short story writer. Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Russian, then rose to international prominence as a master English prose stylist...
. She was also a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize
1995 Pulitzer Prize
- Journalism awards :*Public Service:**Virgin Islands Daily News, St. Thomas, for its disclosure of the links between the region's rampant crime rate and corruption in the local criminal justice system...
for Saint-Exupéry: A Biography about Antoine de Saint Exupéry.
Schiff's A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America won the 2006 George Washington Book Prize. For that book she also received the Ambassador Award in American Studies and the Institut Français’s Gilbert Chinard Prize. In England the book was published under the title Dr. Franklin Goes to France.
Schiff's most recent biography, Cleopatra: A Life, was published by Little Brown in November 2010, reached Number 3 on the New York Times Bestseller List and garnered extraordinary reviews. The Wall Street Journal's critic wrote, "Stacy Schiff does a rare thing; she gives us a book we'd miss if it didn't exist." Rick Riordan declared Cleopatra "impossible to put down;" The New Yorker termed it "a work of literature;" Michael Korda called it "a masterpiece;" Tina Brown declared it read "almost like a novel in its juicy literary flair;" Maureen Dowd found it "captivating;" Simon Winchester predicted the book would become a classic.
Cleopatra won the 2011 PEN / Jacqueline Weld Bogrand Award for distinguished biography. Schiff's early New York Times op-ed on Cleopatra, "Who's Buried in Cleopatra's Tomb?" (April 21, 2009) won an EMMA award for journalistic excellence. To date, Cleopatra has been featured on the following "Best of" lists:
- New York Times Magazine best non-fiction books of all time
- Seattle Times’s Best Biographies of 2010
- The New York Times Book Review Top 10 Books of the Year
- New York Times Notable Books of 2010
- Michiko Kakutani’s Top Ten Books of 2010
- Time Magazine Top Nonfiction
- The New Yorker’s 2010 favorites
- Los Angeles Times Top Nonfiction
- NPR’s Alan Cheuse Best Books of Winter
- Bloomberg Top Nonfiction
- The Week Magazine Top Books of 2010
- Obit Mag’s Best Biographies of 2010
- Apple’s Best Books of 2010
- Washington Post’s Best Books of 2010
- Kirkus’s Best Biographies of 2010
- Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2010
- Washington Examiner’s Best Books of 2010
- The Daily Beast’s Top 5 Nonfiction Books of 2010
- San Francisco Chronicle Ten Best Books of 2010
Schiff was awarded a 2006 Academy Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters
The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member honor society; its goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Located in Washington Heights, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York, it shares Audubon Terrace, its Beaux Arts campus on...
. In 2011 she was named a Library Lion by the New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
.
Currently a guest columnist at 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...
, Schiff resides 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...
and Edmonton, Alberta.
Books
- (Nominated for the 1995 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
) - (Winner of 2000 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
) - (Winner of the George Washington Book PrizeGeorge Washington Book PrizeThe George Washington Book Prize was instituted in 2005 and is awarded annually to the best book on America's founding era, especially those that have the potential to advance broad public understanding of American history. It is administered by Washington College’s C.V...
in 2006) - (Published in the UK as )
Selected essays and articles
- "Desperately Seeking Susan." New York Times, October 13, 2006.
- (Review of )
- "Cleopatra's Guide to Good Governance." New York Times, December 4, 2010
External links
- Official Website
- "An Interview with Stacy Schiff" by Suellen Stringer-Hye, published in April 1999 by Random House.
- Q&A interview with Schiff, September 20, 2011