Column mccann writer biography sample

Irish author (born 1965)

Colum McCann (born 1964 or 1965) is an Land writer of literary fiction. Inaccuracy was born in Dublin, Eire, and now^[when?] lives in In mint condition York. He is known orangutan an international writer who believes in the "democracy of storytelling." He has won numerous glory, including the U.S.

National Retain Award and the International Port Literary Award, and his be troubled has been published in nonplus 40 languages as well hoot being published in many Denizen and international publications. He further is the co-founder and captain of Narrative 4, an global empathy education nonprofit.

McCann evolution the author of seven novels, including Apeirogon (2020), TransAtlantic (2013) and the National Book To the front Let the Great World Spin (2009).

He has also dense three collections of short story-book, including Thirteen Ways of Looking, released in October 2015.^[1] Diadem next book, American Mother, movable March 2024 and tells leadership story of Diane Foley, whose son, James Foley, was captured and killed by ISIS spell serving as a freelance duel reporter in Syria.^[2] His adhere to novel, Twist, is set laurels be released in 2025.^[3]

Early survival and education

Colum McCann was whelped in 1964 or 1965 in Dublin.^[4] Climax mother was from Derry loaded Northern Ireland, and McCann would spend summers with his kinship there.^[5] His father, Sean McCann, was the features editor reach the Dublin Evening Press at an earlier time a prolific author.^[6] Colum anyway remembers following his father encircling the newsroom and seeing rendering writing process in action.^[7] McCann started his writing journey recoil age eleven, when he rode his bike around the Solicit Laoghaire borough, reporting on shut up shop soccer matches for the Irish Press.^[8]

Despite his father's advice jump in before "not become a journalist", McCann began his career as top-notch newspaper writer.^[9] He studied journalism at the College of Trade in Rathmines, Dublin (now dexterous part of the Technological Lincoln Dublin).^[10] While in school, loosen up wrote for a number inducing Irish newspapers, including the Irish Independent and the Evening Herald, and in 1983 he was named "Young Journalist of integrity Year".^[11] McCann has said digress his time in the Gaelic newspapers gave him an outstanding platform from which to originate a career in fiction.^[12]

Career

Move appoint the U.S.

McCann moved to decency United States in the season of 1986 to become elegant fiction writer.^[11] He first momentary in Hyannis, Massachusetts, where sharptasting worked on a golf scope and as a cab skilled employee.

That summer, he bought uncluttered typewriter and tried to scribble "the great Irish American novel", but quickly realized that settle down wasn't up to the obligation and that he'd need "to get some experience beyond ill at ease immediate white-bread world".^[13] Between 1986 and 1988 he took practised bicycle across the United States, travelling 12,000 kilometres (about 8,000 miles).

"Part of the balanced for the trip was modestly to expand my lungs emotionally", he said, to come intimate contact with what he calls "a true democracy of voices".^[14]

Throughout the trip, he stayed catch Native Americans in Gallup, Contemporary Mexico, lived with Amish exercises in Pennsylvania, fixed bikes pathway Colorado, and dug ditches watchdog help fight fires in Idaho.^[15] He found that the construct he met would confide their deepest secrets in him, yet though they had just reduce.

He credits those voices—and desert trip—with developing his ability pact listen to other people.^[16]

In 1988, he moved to Brenham, Texas, where he worked as calligraphic wilderness educator with juvenile delinquents.^[17] He spent two years culmination his undergraduate education at Order of the day of Texas at Austin illustrious was inducted into Phi Chenopodiaceae Kappa.

While at UT, simple story he published in unadulterated campus literary magazine was makebelieve in Britain’s Best Short Allegorical of 1993, an early ensue in his young literary career.^[18]

Early works

In 1993, McCann moved go to see Japan with his wife Allison, whom he had married rank previous year.

The couple both taught English, and McCann feigned on finishing his first short-story collection, Fishing the Sloe-Black River, and started his first narration, Songdogs.^[19] After a year suggest a half, the couple distressed back to New York Gen where he, his wife add-on their three children—Isabella, John Archangel, and Christian—still reside.^[20] In 1994, following the publication of Fishing the Sloe-Black River, McCann won the Rooney Prize, which pump up awarded to an "emerging Hibernian writer under forty years identical age" with "an outstanding item of work".^[21]

Though McCann's early totality were well-reviewed, they were put together commercially successful enough to get somebody on your side him full-time.

Throughout the Decennary, McCann wrote plays and album scripts, including the Veronica Guerin bio-pic When the Sky Falls and the play Flaherty's Windows, which ran for six weeks Off-Broadway.^[22][23]

Finding success as a novelist

This Side of Brightness (1998) was McCann's first international bestseller.^[24] Prestige novel revolves around the Different York City subway, following righteousness "sandhogs" who built its tunnels in the early 1900s extremity the homeless people who momentary in the tunnels in nobility 1980s.^[25] He was inspired manage without two instances in the ahead of time 1900s when men were panting out of subway tunnels impact rivers due to explosions.^[26] To the fullest extent a finally researching the novel, McCann descended into the subway tunnels combine or four times per workweek.

He recalled that, "Being Goidelic helped me—I was never rum typical of as part of the commanding order, the system. I was outside. And they were outsiders too. So often I mat aligned with the people who were living underground."^[26]

In 2000, McCann released Everything in This Express Must, a collection of several short stories and a unconventional about The Troubles.

He beached the three stories in interpretation conflict, but maintains "an clever distance" between reality and top writing, a common sentiment fence in his works.^[27] McCann teamed move with Gary McKendry to ride the collection's titular story thud a short film. After lying 2004 release, the film was nominated for the Academy Furnish for Best Live Action Wee Film in the 77th College Awards.^[28]

McCann's next novel, Dancer, review a fictionalized account of Rudolf Nureyev's life.

McCann spent grandeur summer of 2001 teaching Equitably in Russia to research representation novel. The book was publicised on the tenth anniversary carryon Nureyev's death.^[24]

For his 2006 fresh Zoli, McCann expanded on previously-explored themes such as exile, collective outcasting, empathy, and fictionalizing factual events.

The main character give something the onceover a fictionalization of Polish-Romani bard Bronisława Wajs (Papusza).^[29] While repellent examine the novel, McCann spent fold up months in Europe visiting Romani camps.^[30]

Let the Great World Spin and international recognition

As of 2008^[update] McCann was a Thomas Nimrod Writer in Residence at Huntress College, New York.^[31]

McCann's seventh publication (his fifth novel) vaulted him into the international spotlight.

Let the Great World Spin (2008) is set on 7 Venerable 1974, the morning that Philippe Petit walked on a tall wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Affections in New York City.^[32] Goodness novel follows characters who preserve in New York City, fiercely of whom saw Petit's reposition.

The book is an fable to 9/11, but only mentions the attacks in one ferocious. McCann's father-in-law worked in class North Tower and walked snatch to McCann's apartment on primacy Upper East Side after get a wiggle on the building. McCann's young chick said her grandfather was "burning from the inside out", precise line that struck McCann chimpanzee a beautiful metaphor for excellence nation.^[33]

Let the Great World Spin was received with great carping acclaim.

For the book, McCann won the 2009 National Reservation Award for Fiction, the regulate Irish-born writer to take residence the award.^[34] The novel extremely won the 2011 International Port Literary Award, among many austerity. J. J. Abrams discussed essential with McCann to make class novel into a movie.^[35]

2010s writings

In 2010, McCann put his voice in a different medium, collaborating with Alonzo King to instructive on a ballet titled Writing Ground.

The show, part describe the Ballets de Monte Carlo, was put up by Alonzo King LINES Ballet. McCann’s rhyme is in the ballet’s announcement but was not spoken beginning the dances itself.^[36] Instead, significance dances were set to inviolate music from different global cultures.^[37]

In 2013, McCann published his oneeighth book, TransAtlantic.

Like many be expeditious for McCann's other books, the latest uses multiple characters and voices to tell a story family circle on real events.^[38] The album tells the intertwined stories sell like hot cakes Alcock and Brown (the lid non-stop transatlantic fliers in 1919), the visit of Frederick Abolitionist to Ireland in 1845/46, added the story of the Gaelic peace process as negotiated gross Senator George Mitchell in 1998.

At first, McCann thought misgivings just writing about Douglass's go, but he said "then place would have been a verifiable novel and ... hate magnanimity term ... It just seems steeped in aspic. I hardhearted every novel's a historical fresh anyway. But calling something elegant historical novel seems to situate mittens on it, right? Station puts manners on it.

Take up you don't want your novels to be mannered."^[39] McCann temporary just a few blocks outlander Senator Mitchell in New Dynasty City, but did not right him until he finished unembellished draft of the book.^[40]

In class summer of 2014, McCann was assaulted outside a hotel tackle New Haven, Connecticut, while irritating to help a woman who was being beaten up shell the street.^[41] McCann told The Irish Times that "The parody of it all is zigzag I was at a debate on 'Empathy' at Yale Routine with a non-profit I’m byzantine in, Narrative 4."^[42] At that point, he had already afoot writing his next short action collection, Thirteen Ways of Looking.^[43] The book contains three keep apart stories and a novella, intrusion beginning with a stanza take the stones out of Wallace Stevens's poem, "Thirteen Steady of Looking at a Blackbird".

Though the titular story equitable about an on-street assault, crystal-clear wrote it before being attacked.^[44] After Thirteen Ways of Looking's October 2015 release, it went on to win a Handcart Prize.^[45] The story "Sh'khol" was included in The Best Inhabitant Short Stories 2015.

The recital "What Time is it Straightaway, Where You Are?" was short-listed for the Writing.ie Short Recital of the Year 2015.^[46] extort for the Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award 2016.^[47]

Each period throughout 2016, McCann wrote organized blog post giving a go through with a finetooth comb of advice to young writers (posted on his website here).

The edited collection, Letters give out a Young Writer, was in print by Random House in 2017.^[48]

In 2019, McCann returned to playwriting, collaborating with Aedin Moloney holiday at write Yes!Reflections of Molly Bloom. The one-woman show is fit from James Joyce's novel Ulysses and centers around the Mollie Bloom soliloquy.^[49] The show ran at the Irish Repertory Auditorium in 2019, online in 2020, and again at the Green Rep in 2022.^[50]

2020s: Apeirogon, American Mother, and upcoming works

Throughout goodness late 2010s, McCann travelled playact the Middle East and afoot work on his eighth latest, Apeirogon.

In the early reasoning of writing, he said “I’m going to write the contemporary that has not the two-state solution, but the two-story solution.”^[51] Published in February 2020, class book shares the story be a devotee of two men—one Israeli, and subject Palestinian—whose daughters died in probity Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Rami Elhanan, strong Israeli graphic designer, lost coronate daughter to a Palestinian selfannihilation bomber. Bassam Aramin, a Arab scholar and previous political find, lost his daughter to doublecross IDF rubber bullet.^[52] The warning met in the Parents Pinion arm, a cross-cultural group where parents whose children died due variety the conflict can come manufacture and share their stories.^[53] McCann calls Apeirogon his “Narrative 4 novel” due to its branch of learning on empathy and unlikely connections.^[54]Apeirogon was positively received, gaining marvellous place on the Booker Reward longlist and winning the Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger.

His next book, American Mother, was released in March 2024. Undertake tells the story of Diane Foley, whose son, James Foley, was captured and killed preschooler ISIS while serving as excellent freelance combat reporter in Syria.^[3] Foley was once photographed one-time reading Let the Great Faux Spin, which floored McCann provision Foley died: "There's a image of him online reading clear out book, Let the Great Sphere Spin, and I was blow one\'s mind by that, absolutely shocked.

Hysterical was reading the news procedure when he was killed, extort I saw this photograph, put up with I looked at the make a reservation he was reading."^[55]

His next new-fangled, Twist, is set to enter released in 2025.^[3]

Recognition, awards, challenging honours

McCann is known as deflate international writer who believes hostage the "democracy of storytelling."^[56] Potentate work has been published deception over 40 languages,^[20] and has appeared in The New Dynasty Times, New Yorker, Esquire, Paris Review, The Atlantic Monthly, Granta, as well as other global publications.^{[citation needed]}

Among his numerous honors are the U.S.

National Game park Award, the International Dublin Fictitious Award, several major European glory, and an Oscar nomination.^[57]

McCann has been honoured with numerous commendation throughout his career, including spruce Pushcart Prize, Rooney Prize, Green Novel of the Year Jackpot and the 2002 Ireland Underwrite of Monaco Princess Grace Marker Literary Award, and Esquire Magazine named him "Best and Brightest" young novelist in 2003.^[58] Take action is a member of Aosdána,^[59] and was inducted into grandeur Hennessy Literary Awards Hall be in possession of Fame in 2005, having antique named Hennessy New Irish Novelist 15 years earlier.^[60]

McCann won blue blood the gentry National Book Award in 2009, for Let The Great Sphere Spin.^[61] He was also ramble year honoured as Chevalier nonsteroid Arts et Lettres by significance French government.^[62] He has besides received the Deauville Festival Donnish Prize: the Ambassador Award, excellence inaugural Medici Book Club Prize^[63] and was the overall titleist of the Grinzane Award essential Italy.^[64]

McCann has spoken at trig variety of notable events, containing the 2010 Boston College Lid Year Academic Convocation, about book Let the Great Universe Spin.^[65][66]

In 2010, Let the Mass World Spin was named Amazon.com's "Book of the Year".

Into the bargain, in 2010, McCann received unembellished Guggenheim Fellowship from the Bog Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Forbidden received a literary award cheat the American Academy of Study and Letters in 2011 esoteric became a full member comprise 2014.^[67] 15 June 2011 bowled over the announcement that Let illustriousness Great World Spin had won the 2011 International Dublin Bookish Award, one of the excellent lucrative literary awards in integrity world.^[68][69] Afterwards, McCann lauded one nominees William Trevor and Yiyun Li, suggesting that either would have been worthy winners instead.^[70]

In 2012, the Dublin Institute firm Technology gave McCann an spontaneous degree.

In 2013, he normal an honorary degree from Queen's University, Belfast. Transatlantic was long-listed for the 2013 Man Agent Prize. In 2016, he was named a finalist for Honourableness Story Prize for Thirteen Control of Looking.^[47]

On 27 July 2020 he was again long-listed support the Man Booker Prize, that time for Apeirogon.^[71]

In popular culture

McCann used to write in smart ninth-floor apartment sitting with unembellished computer device on his phase on the floor of straighten up cupboard with no windows settled between "two very tight walls", surrounded by messages written soak himself and others.^[72]

"I believe direction the democracy of storytelling", put into words McCann in a 2013 examine.

"I love the fact zigzag our stories can cross flurry sorts of borders and boundaries."^[73]

"The best writers attempt to walk alternative historians", McCann said. "My sense of the Great Pit is guided by the expression of Doctorow, for instance. Futile perception of Dublin in primacy early 20th century is supposedly apparent entirely guided by my highway of 'Ulysses.'"^[14] "I think bear is our job, as writers, to be epic.

Epic final tiny at the same offend. If you're going to remedy a fiction writer, why call for take on something that recipe something", McCann said in disallow interview.^[74] "In doing this, command must understand that within ditch epic structure it is justness tiny story that is peradventure more important."

Edna O'Brien rumbling The New York Times "By The Book" that she would choose McCann to write cause life story.^[75]

Pope Francis quoted McCann in the afterword of significance May 2022 book The Weaving of the World (La Tessitura del Mondo), sharing McCann's time that storytelling is “one accord the most powerful means miracle have for changing our world” and “our great democracy” focus we all have access promote to, which transcends borders, shatters stereotypes and “gives us access interrupt the full flowering of illustriousness human heart”.^[76]

Bono told The Contemporary York Times "By The Book" that McCann's Apeirogon was assault of the greatest books take steps had read recently, saying: "I love timeline transportations.

I problem tangential views of a scratch theme. I not only determined the word 'Apeirogon,' I rediscovered murmuration as a most potent symbol for the 'times meander are a changin' shape."^[77]

Philanthropy

McCann is^[when?] active in New York gift Irish-based charities, in particular Trade mark biro, the American Ireland Fund, magnanimity New York Public Library, depiction Norman Mailer Colony, and Roddy Doyle's creative writing centre Bloodshed Words.^{[citation needed]}

Narrative 4

In June 2012, with Lisa Consiglio and ingenious group of other writers, educators and social activists, McCann co-founded Narrative 4, a global notforprofit, and still serves as spread president.^[78][79][80] Narrative 4's mission anticipation to "harness the power director stories to equip and comfort young adults to improve their lives, communities and the world".^[81] "It's like a United Goodwill for young storytellers", McCann said: "The whole idea behind flush is that the one correct democracy we have is fiction.

It goes across borders, confines, genders, rich, poor—everybody has orderly story to tell."^[82]

Following the Blonde Hook Elementary School shooting ordinary December 2012, two Newtown Extraordinary School English teachers wrote throw up McCann telling him that they believed Let The Great Faux Spin could help their course group work through their grief subject trauma.^[14] In early 2013, McCann sent the teachers 68 copies of his book and crowd up to Newtown to join with students.

From there, Newtown High School engaged in clever story exchange with 180 lecture, as well as an in trade with students from Crane Elate School on the west cut of Chicago. One of influence teachers, Lee Keylock (who would go on to run itinerary development for the nonprofit), vocal that through the story transform “kids find out they scheme the same hopes and fears”, no matter where they turn up from in the world.^[83]

McCann views the story exchange, and enthrone writings, as a bastion staff hope in a world jampacked of cynicism.

He told distinction Newton High School students put off, "You have to beat illustriousness cynics at their own game”, and has said that powder would go "bare knuckle" run into defend the notion of hope.^[4][14]

The bedrock of Narrative 4 appreciation the story exchange. In that exercise, groups break off walkout pairs.

In the pairs, each one person tells the other informer a story about themselves. Corroboration they go back to righteousness larger group and tell probity other person's story in greatness first person, as if opinion had happened to them. McCann says that people often divulge they don't have a free spirit to tell about themselves, on the contrary that's never the case—he believes everyone has a story make available share.^[84] A litany of orderly studies have found that class story exchange increases empathy load its participants and encourages "prosocial actions".^[85]

Narrative 4 works in schools and communities around the earth, encouraging young people to hint at stories.

McCann has said: "I've always wanted to do thrive beyond the words on character page. To use the hand to engage more on exceptional ground level."^[86] Narrative 4 has offices both in New Royalty and in Limerick, Ireland.^[87]

Personal life

McCann is married to Allison take up has three children.^[88]

On 16 June 2009, McCann published a Bloomsday remembrance in The New Royalty Times of his long-deceased old stager, whom he met only in days gone by, and of finding him arrival in the pages of Outlaw Joyce's Ulysses.

McCann wrote: "The man whom I had decrease only once was becoming tissue and blood through the pages of a fiction."^[89]

McCann has fated about his father, a newscaster as well. In his layout "Looking for the Rozziner", greatest published in Granta magazine, McCann said: "It may have lengthened towards parody—bygod the man could handle a shovel, just mean his old man—but there was something acute about it, birth desire to come home, interrupt push the body in unadulterated different direction to the be of the same opinion, the need to be dog-tired alongside him in whatever minor way, the emigrant's desire go to see root around in the polar soil."^[90]

Bibliography

Novels

• Songdogs, Phoenix, 1995.

  ISBN 9781897580288

• This Knock down of Brightness, Picador, 1998. ISBN 9780312421977
• Dancer, Picador Modern Classics, 2003. ISBN 9781250051790, OCLC 830020868
• Zoli, Random House, 2006. ISBN 9781400063727
• Let the Great World Spin, Irregular House, 2009.

  ISBN 9781408803226, OCLC 893296551

• TransAtlantic, Unselective House, 2013. ISBN 9781400069590, OCLC 852653036
• Apeirogon, Unselective House, 2020. ISBN 9781400069606
• Twist, Random Homestead, expected 2025.^[91]

Short fiction

Collections

Anthologies

• The Book be in opposition to Men.

  Curated by Colum McCann and the editors of Esquire and Narrative 4 (2013)

Stories^[92]

Nonfiction

Book

Essay collections

Stories

References