Thomas Beller
Encyclopedia
Thomas Beller is an American author
and editor
.
, Beller has remained a resident of his native city, which often features in his stories. He is the son of documentary filmmaker Hava Kohav Beller. After attending Saint Ann's in Brooklyn, NY, he received his BA from Vassar College
, and his MFA from the respected Columbia University
Writing Program. Thomas Beller lives with his wife and child in New York City
and New Orleans, LA where he teaches at Tulane University
.
published Beller's short story "A Different Kind of Imperfection", which was chosen for the Best American Short Stories
volume of 1992. Since, his work has appeared in such publications as The New York Times
, ELLE
, Spin
, Vogue
, Slate
, and The Village Voice
. He spent a year as a staff writer at The New Yorker, and later worked for The Cambodia Daily
newspaper, where he remains a contributing editor. He is a contributing editor to Travel+Leisure Magazine.
Beller has penned three volumes. The first, Seduction Theory, a collection of short stories, was published in 1995. The Sleep-Over Artist, Beller's first novel, was a Los Angeles Times
Best Book of 2000, and a New York Times Notable Book. His third book, How to Be a Man: Scenes from a Protracted Boyhood, is a series of autobiographical essays.
He co-founded the tri-annual literary magazine Open City
in 1990, which added a book division in 1999. Today, Beller and Joanna Yas, are the editors of the magazine and press, which publishes many new and young writers. He has also edited three anthologies: With Love and Squalor: 14 Writers Respond to the Work of J.D. Salinger, Before and After: Stories From New York, and Personals: Dreams and Nightmares From the Lives of Twenty Young Writers.
Thomas Beller is also the creator of the literary website Mr. Beller's Neighborhood, a collection of essays, reportage, and vignettes by various authors, including Beller himself. All of the pieces are set in or about Beller's native New York City; the collection has been growing since 2000. The location of each story is marked on a map. In 2002, the site was nominated for a Webby Award in the Print and Zine category and published a book: Before and After: Stories from New York, which pivots around the September 11 attacks.
In 2009, Beller edited a second Mr. Beller's Neighborhood anthology, Lost and Found: Stories from New York.
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
.
Life
Born and raised in New YorkNew 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...
, Beller has remained a resident of his native city, which often features in his stories. He is the son of documentary filmmaker Hava Kohav Beller. After attending Saint Ann's in Brooklyn, NY, he received his BA from Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, and his MFA from the respected Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
Writing Program. Thomas Beller lives with his wife and child 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 New Orleans, LA where he teaches at Tulane University
Tulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
.
Career
While still studying for his MFA, The New YorkerThe New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
published Beller's short story "A Different Kind of Imperfection", which was chosen for the Best American Short Stories
Best American Short Stories
The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in contemporary American literature.-Edward O'Brien:The...
volume of 1992. Since, his work has appeared in such publications as 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...
, ELLE
Elle
Elle may refer to:*Elle, Central African Republic*Elle , a fashion publication*Ellé, a river in France*Elle , a female given name*Elle , a Sri Lankan game similar to baseball*Ælle of Sussex, a Saxon king...
, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, 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...
, and The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
. He spent a year as a staff writer at The New Yorker, and later worked for The Cambodia Daily
The Cambodia Daily
The Cambodia Daily is Cambodia's first English-language daily newspaper. It was started in 1993 by Bernard Krisher, an American journalist. Krisher hired two young and relatively inexperienced journalists, Barton Biggs and Robin McDowell, as the paper's first editors. The first issue was published...
newspaper, where he remains a contributing editor. He is a contributing editor to Travel+Leisure Magazine.
Beller has penned three volumes. The first, Seduction Theory, a collection of short stories, was published in 1995. The Sleep-Over Artist, Beller's first novel, was a Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Best Book of 2000, and a New York Times Notable Book. His third book, How to Be a Man: Scenes from a Protracted Boyhood, is a series of autobiographical essays.
He co-founded the tri-annual literary magazine Open City
Open City (magazine)
Open City Magazine and Books was a New York City based magazine and book publisher that features many first-time writers alongside those who are well known. The editors are Thomas Beller and Joanna Yas. It is published by a nonprofit organization, Open City, Inc. Open City Magazine is released...
in 1990, which added a book division in 1999. Today, Beller and Joanna Yas, are the editors of the magazine and press, which publishes many new and young writers. He has also edited three anthologies: With Love and Squalor: 14 Writers Respond to the Work of J.D. Salinger, Before and After: Stories From New York, and Personals: Dreams and Nightmares From the Lives of Twenty Young Writers.
Thomas Beller is also the creator of the literary website Mr. Beller's Neighborhood, a collection of essays, reportage, and vignettes by various authors, including Beller himself. All of the pieces are set in or about Beller's native New York City; the collection has been growing since 2000. The location of each story is marked on a map. In 2002, the site was nominated for a Webby Award in the Print and Zine category and published a book: Before and After: Stories from New York, which pivots around the September 11 attacks.
In 2009, Beller edited a second Mr. Beller's Neighborhood anthology, Lost and Found: Stories from New York.
External links
- Official site
- Open City Magazine and Books
- Mr. Beller's Neighborhood
- Thomas Beller's anthologies
- Lost and Found: Stories from New York
- http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/169/Pursuit-of-HappinessThomas Beller reads from The Sleep-Over Artist on This American LifeThis American LifeThis American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
.]