Wikipedia

Maggie Shipstead

Maggie Shipstead (born 1983) is an American novelist, short story author, essayist, and travel writer. She is the author of Seating Arrangements (2012) Astonish Me (2014), Great Circle (2021), and the short story collection You Have a Friend in 10A (2022).

Maggie Shipstead
Born1983 (age 40–41)
Mission Viejo, California, U.S.[1]
NationalityAmerican
EducationHarvard University (BA)
University of Iowa (MFA)
OccupationNovelist
Known forNovels, Short Stories, Essays, Travel Writing
Notable workSeating Arrangements, Astonish Me, Great Circle, You Have a Friend in 10A: Stories
AwardsStegner Fellowship, Dylan Thomas Prize (2012), Los Angeles Times Book Prize (First Fiction, 2012) National Endowment of the Arts (2020)
Websitewww.maggieshipstead.com

Early life and education

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Shipstead grew up in Mission Viejo, California.[2] Her mother was a professor of child development and placed Shipstead into a program for "gifted" children based on an IQ test at five years old. She was a competitive horse rider.[3]

Shipstead attended Harvard University and while there she considered becoming a writer for the first time after taking Zadie Smith's course on creative writing.[3] After earning an MFA at Iowa Writers' Workshop, she was awarded a Stegner Fellowship.[4]

Writing career

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After finishing the Stegner fellowship, she published her first novel, Seating Arrangements, in 2012.[5] It describes a wedding weekend on a monied, fictional New England island, and received critical acclaim. The New York Times described it as a "smart and frothy debut novel,"[5] and it received the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for First Fiction and the Dylan Thomas Prize.[6][7]

Her second novel, Astonish Me (2014), spans three decades of intrigue and romance in the ballet world starting in 1977.[8] It received mixed reviews, with the New York Times describing the prose as "unexceptional, subservient to the momentum of Shipstead’s schematic plot."[9] However, The Guardian praised it for "nimble writing barely misses a beat, any plot implausibility amply compensated for by her serious addressing of a devotion to artistic endeavour that crosses generations and captivates opposing individuals."[10]

In 2021, she published her third novel, Great Circle, to wide acclaim. The Washington Post described it as a "a soaring work of historical fiction about a “lady pilot” in the mid-20th century."[11] It was shortlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize[12][13] and for the 2022 Women's Prize for Fiction.[14] It portrays a fearless female aviator, Marian Graves, who struggles to break through the sexist norms of aviation from the 1910s-1950s, while framing the story through the eyes of an actress who is portraying Graves on screen in present day. It was optioned by Picturestart in the summer of 2021 for development into a television show, with Shipstead serving as an executive producer.[15]

In 2022, Shipstead published the short story collection You Have a Friend in 10A. Many of the short stories had been previously published in journals such as Tin House and Virginia Quarterly Review in the decade leading up to the publication of Great Circle.[16] While many of the ten stories were praised, some reviewers criticized the book for being inconsistent: while The New York Times praised the writing of "La Moretta" as a standout, it noted that other stories seemed "plainly unfinished."[17]

Shipstead also spends much of her time traveling the world and is a essayist and travel writer. She has written for magazines and newspapers including Condé Nast Traveler, The New York Times, and Departures.[18]

Personal life

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Shipstead lives in Los Angeles, California[19] with her dog, Gus. Though based there, she travels extensively.[3] She wrote about a romantic relationship she had with a man she met on a trip through the subantarctic islands south of New Zealand for Modern Love.[3][20]

Bibliography

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  • — (2012). Seating Arrangements. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-59946-9. LCCN 2012005049. OCLC 754714005.
  • — (2014). Astonish Me. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-307-96290-4. LCCN 2013026781. OCLC 854285679.
  • — (2021). Great Circle. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-525-65697-5. LCCN 2020021074. OCLC 1154075263.[19]
  • — (2022). You Have a Friend In 10A: Stories. Transworld Publishers Limited. ISBN 978-0-85752-682-3.

References

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  1. ^ Schelden, Peter (November 20, 2013). "Mission Viejo's Maggie Shipstead Announces New Novel". Mission Viejo Patch. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  2. ^ Brown, Helen (May 20, 2014). "Maggie Shipstead: 'I'm a very competitive person'". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Brown, Helen (2021-05-04). "Maggie Shipstead interview: 'In fiction, you can "get at" attractions that don't fit the mould of appropriateness'". The Independent. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
  4. ^ Kelly, Dan (7 April 2021). "Like Driving At Night". Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Landis, Dylan (22 June 2012). "Members of the Wedding". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. ^ LA Times Staff (20 April 2013). "Announcing the 2012 Los Angeles Times Book Prize winners". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  7. ^ Flood, Alison (13 November 2012). "Maggie Shipstead wins Dylan Thomas prize". The Guardian. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  8. ^ McDonald, Jennifer B. (11 July 2014). "Out Of Step". The New York Times. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  9. ^ McDonald, Jennifer B. (July 11, 2014). "Out of Step". Sunday Book Review. The New York Times. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  10. ^ Taylor, Catherine (28 June 2014). "Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead review – a bravura performance". The Guardian. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  11. ^ Charles, Ron. "Maggie Shipstead's 'Great Circle' is a soaring work of historical fiction and a perfect summer novel". www.washingtonpost.com. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  12. ^ Flood, Alison (September 14, 2021). "Nadifa Mohamed is sole British writer to make Booker prize shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2021.
  13. ^ "Great Circle | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  14. ^ "'Sorrow and Bliss' shortlisted for 2022 Women's Prize". Books Publishing. 2022-04-28. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  15. ^ White, Peter (29 July 2021). "Maggie Shipstead's 'Great Circle' Novel Set For TV Series Adaptation Via Erik Feig's Picturestart". Deadline Hollywood.
  16. ^ Hart, Drew. "Book Review: "You Have a Friend in 10A" — A Laboratory of a Short Story Collection". www.artsfuse.org. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Harding, Lizzy (12 May 2022). "An Intrepid Chronicler of Sundry Experiences". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved September 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Maggie Shipstead Q&A | The Booker Prizes". thebookerprizes.com. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  19. ^ a b Oliveira, Emily (July 1, 2019). "Maggie Shipstead AB '05". Harvardwood. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
  20. ^ Shipstead, Maggie (2021-01-01). "My Five-Week-Long First Date". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-06-24.
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