Gail Kathleen Godwin (1937-06-18) June 18, 1937 (age 86) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation
Author
Education
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Iowa (MA, PhD)
Genre
Fiction
autobiography
Notable works
A Mother and Two Daughters (1982)
A Southern Family (1987)
Notable awards
Three-time National Book Award nominee
Partner
Robert Starer
Website
www.gailgodwin.com
Gail Godwin (born June 18, 1937) is an American novelist and short story writer. Godwin has written 14 novels, two short story collections, three non-fiction books, and ten libretti. Her primary literary accomplishments are her novels, which have included five best-sellers and three finalists for the National Book Award. Most of her books are realistic fiction novels that follow a character's psychological and intellectual development, often based on themes taken from Godwin's own life.
Godwin was born in Birmingham, Alabama, but raised mostly in Asheville, North Carolina by her mother and grandmother. She adopted her mother's interest in writing at an early age and obtained a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). After graduating, she worked briefly as a reporter for The Miami Herald, then traveled to Europe and worked for the U.S. Travel Service run by the U.S. Embassy in London. She returned to the U.S. after six years. Godwin taught English at the University of Iowa, while earning her M.A. (1968) and Ph.D. (1971) in English Literature.
While at the University of Iowa, Godwin's dissertation became her first novel, The Perfectionists. By 1976 she had become a successful writer and author of three books. In particular, two books written by her in the 1980s, A Mother and Two Daughters (1982) and A Southern Family (1987), resulted in further acclaim and expanded the readership of her books. Following The Finishing School (1984), readership of her books dramatically declined until 2006, when Queen of the Underworld was published. Flora (2013) became one of her more commercially successful novels.
GailGodwin (born June 18, 1937) is an American novelist and short story writer. Godwin has written 14 novels, two short story collections, three non-fiction...
Godwin (1889–1959), American illustrator, creator of Connie comic strip Frank Godwin (film producer) (1917–2012), English film producer GailGodwin (born...
1975 Robert Stone Dog Soldiers Winner Donald Barthelme Guilty Pleasures GailGodwin The Odd Woman Finalist Joseph Heller Something Happened Finalist Toni...
resided in Woodstock, New York until his death. He lived with writer GailGodwin for some thirty years; the two collaborated on several librettos. Starer...
Glass People is the second novel written by American writer GailGodwin. Published in 1972, the work was written while the author was teaching at the...
(1911–1985), painter Fortune Feimster (born 1980), actress and comedian GailGodwin (born 1937), writer Mary Hilliard Hinton (1869–1961), historian, painter...
friends and fellow writers Ann Beattie, E.L. Doctorow, John Irving, GailGodwin, Stephen King, John Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, and Richard Yates held a special...
With Celestial Navigation, Tyler began to get national recognition: GailGodwin gave it a very favorable review in the New York Times Review of Books...
James Applewhite (1997) Richard Bausch (1997) Clyde Edgerton (1997) GailGodwin (1997) William Hoffman (1997) Donald Justice (1997) Dave Smith (1997)...
Virginia Julia Glass (born 1956), Three Junes GailGodwin (born 1937), A Mother and Two Daughters Tom Godwin (1915–1980), ‘’The Survivors’’ Herbert Gold...
Home Harper & Row 1986 Hortense Calisher The Bobby Soxer Doubleday 1987 GailGodwin A Southern Family William Morrow and Company 1988 Kathryn Davis Labrador...
alumni of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Taylor Branch GailGodwin Jenny Han Lydia Millet Mary Pope Osborne Thomas Wolfe Lewis Black Louise...
Peter Clark, Barnaby Conrad, Lewis Burke Frumkes, James Cross Giblin, GailGodwin, Eileen Goudge, Rachel Hadas, Shelby Hearon, John Jakes, John Koethe...
Richard Bausch, T.C. Boyle, Ethan Canin, Will Schmitz,Michael Cunningham, GailGodwin, Denis Johnson, and Jane Smiley came to the workshop as students. Writers...
Drabble's poor work to the poor subsequent novels by Edna O'Brien and GailGodwin. Kirkus review was much more positive about the novel, calling it "a...
Calisher 1982: John Gardner 1983: Anne Tyler 1984: John Updike 1985: GailGodwin 1986: Raymond Carver 1987: Ann Beattie 1988: Mark Helprin 1989: Margaret...
Awards" in 1957 for fiction, nonfiction and poetry; honorees have included GailGodwin, Ann Waldron, and Kathryn Tucker Windham. The Alabama Writers' Forum...
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