Though she has written four novels, including In Country, a New York Times Bestseller that became a feature movie starring Bruce Willis , and a memoir, Clear Springs (1999) that was one of three finalists for the Pulitzer Prize, BOBBIE ANN MASON may be most admired for her mastery of the short story.

Mason's early short story collection Shiloh and Other Stories (1982) established her reputation as a writer. The book received nominations for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the American Book Award, the PEN-Faulkner Award for fiction, and won the PEN/Hemingway Award. Writing in The New Republic, Anne Tyler hailed Mason as "a full-fledged master of the short story."

Mason has twice received the Southern Book Award, once for Feather Crowns (1993) a novel, and once the story collection, Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail (2003). Her short fiction has appeared in publications such as The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and Harper's. She earned a B.A. from the University of Kentucky, an M.A. degree from SUNY Binghamton, and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut.

She is writer-in-residence at the University of Kentucky, and lives with her husband, Roger Rawlings.

The critics on Bobbie Ann Mason:

"I love the way Bobbie Ann Mason writes, the way she brings her people to life in so few words. I've been a fan since Shiloh." - Elmore Leonard

"Stuns with its effortless craft and lingering grace. . .Mason's stories are masterful in their quiet simplicity." - The Denver Post

"Mason's great skill is in creating fully realized lives in the space of a few pages." - The Miami Herald

LINKS:

Links to NY Times reviews of Bobbie Ann's books.

Michael Sims interviews Bobbie Ann Mason for BookPage after publication of Mason's memoir.

Bobbie Ann Mason, the author of Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail, talks about Bruce Springsteen, James Joyce, and discovering her own writing voice on The Atlantic.com.