Jedediah Berry (born 1977) is an American writer. He is the author of two novels, The Manual of Detection (2009) and The Naming Song (2024).[1]
Jedediah Berry | |
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| Born | 1977 (age 46–47) Randolph, Vermont, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Alma mater | Bard College University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Humanities and Fine Arts |
| Notable awards | Hammett Prize (2009) Crawford Award (2010) |
| Website | |
| thirdarchive | |
Background and education
editBerry was born in Randolph, Vermont, and spent his childhood in Catskill, New York. He attended Bard College, and earned a graduate degree from the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has worked as an editor at Small Beer Press.[2]
Work
editBerry's first novel, The Manual of Detection, was published by The Penguin Press in 2009. It won the 2009 Hammett Prize[3] and the 2010 Crawford Award.[4] Set in an unnamed city, the novel follows file clerk Charles Unwin as he attempts to solve a mystery involving a missing detective and a criminal mastermind operating through people's dreams. He was a 2011 James Merrill House Fellow in Stonington, CT. Critics have noted that The Manual of Detection combines elements from several genres of fiction, including mystery and fantasy.[5] Writing for The Guardian, Michael Moorcock situated the book within the tradition of steampunk fiction.[6] The New Yorker called it “the kind of mannered fantasy that might result if Wes Anderson were to adapt Kafka.”[7] A reviewer for The Observer compared it to The Third Policeman by Flann O'Brien, and described it as “imaginative, fantastical, sometimes inexplicable, labyrinthine and ingenious.”[8] An abridged version of the novel, read by Toby Jones, was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra in January 2013.[9]
Berry's short stories have appeared in Conjunctions, Chicago Review, Ninth Letter, and other magazines. He has taught at the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and he currently teaches at Bard College.[10]
Berry published The Family Arcana, a “story in cards” in 2015. It was nominated for the World Fantasy Award.[11]
Berry’s second novel, The Naming Song , was published by Tor Books in 2024.[12]
Notes
edit- ^ "Jedediah Berry, Author at Tor Publishing Group".
- ^ "Jedediah Berry: A Stranger Road", Locus, July 1, 2010
- ^ Sciandra, Mary Frisque and Lisa. "IACW/NA: Hammett Prize: Past Years". www.crimewritersna.org. Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- ^ "Jedediah Berry Wins Crawford Award". Locus Online. January 26, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- ^ Lo Dico, Joy (June 20, 2010), "The Manual of Detection, By Jedediah Berry", The Independent on Sunday
- ^ Moorcock, Michael (August 22, 2009), "The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry", The Guardian
- ^ "Books Briefly Noted", The New Yorker, March 9, 2009
- ^ Guttridge, Peter (April 5, 2009), "The Manual of Detection", The Observer
- ^ "ManualOfDetection". Retrieved April 5, 2015.
- ^ "Bard College".
- ^ "The Family Arcana".
- ^ https://torpublishinggroup.com/the-naming-song/