For release: March 10, 2011
For press information, contact Gabrielle Maxey, 901/678-2843

Richard Bausch

The 11 stories manage to find hope, even while exploring the depths of family and marital estrangement, divisions between friends and lovers, and the impermanence of love.

Bausch is the author of 11 novels, eight short story collections, and one volume of poetry and prose. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim fellowships, an Award in Literature from the Academy of Arts and Letters, an O. Henry Award, Pushcart Award, and the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Writer’s Award.

His stories have appeared in many prestigious anthologies, including Best American Short Stories. His novel The Last Good Time was made into a feature film.

Bausch earned his MFA degree from the celebrated University of Iowa Writers Workshop. At the U of M, he has helped create a studio degree, giving students more time to write. Bausch also conducts the Moss Workshop in Fiction, a free annual seminar open to the community.

“It’s humbling and very pleasurable to be among those nominated,” Bausch said. “Also, Rebecca Skloot, who was our colleague here for three years, has been nominated.  So, two people with ties to Memphis and to this writing program were nominated.”

Skloot, former assistant professor of English, is a finalist for her non-fiction book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.

The 31st annual prizes will be awarded in Los Angeles on April 29.