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Daniel Woodrell

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Daniel Woodrell
Born (1953-03-04) March 4, 1953 (age 72)
Springfield, Missouri, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
EducationUniversity of Kansas (BA)
Iowa Writers' Workshop (MFA)
Period1986–present
GenreCrime fiction, "country noir"

Daniel Woodrell (born March 4, 1953) is an American novelist and short story writer, who has written nine novels, most of them set in the Missouri Ozarks, and one collection of short stories. Woodrell coined the phrase "country noir" to describe his 1996 novel Give Us a Kiss.[1] Reviewers have frequently since used the term to categorize his writing.[2]

Early life and education

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Woodrell was born in Springfield, Missouri,[3] in the southwestern corner of the state. He grew up in Missouri and dropped out of high school to join the Marines. Later he earned a BA from the University of Kansas and an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[1] The University of Missouri–Kansas City awarded an honorary doctorate to Daniel Woodrell on December 17, 2016.

Marriage and family

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He lives in West Plains, Missouri, in the Ozarks and is married to the novelist Katie Estill.[4]

Career

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Woodrell has set most of his novels in the Missouri Ozarks, a landscape he knew from childhood. He has created novels based on crime, a style he termed "country noir", a phrase adopted by commentators on his work. However, William Michael Boyle, an avowed fan and fellow author of literary crime fiction, put Woodrell's work in broader context: "this Woodrell guy's got double of everything. Language, plot, dialogue, sense of place, energy, tension...He's interested in the whole of humanity through the lens of his place."[5]

In addition to finding readers for his fiction, Woodrell has had three novels adapted for films. Woodrell's second novel, Woe to Live On (1987), was adapted for the 1999 film Ride with the Devil, directed by Ang Lee.

Winter's Bone (2006) was adapted by writer and director Debra Granik for a film of the same title, and released commercially in June 2010 after winning two awards at the Sundance Film Festival, including the Grand Jury Prize for a dramatic film.[6][7] Several critics called it one of the best films of the year and an American classic, and it received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture.[8]

Tomato Red (1998) was adapted for a 2017 feature film by Irish writer and director Juanita Wilson. This was released in Ireland in March 2017 and went on to be nominated for four awards at that year's Irish Film & Television Awards, including Best Film. Its US debut took place on April 23, 2017, at the Newport Beach Film Festival.[9]

While filming a segment for Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Woodrell was filmed breaking his shoulder in a boat fishing accident.[10]

Honors

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Year Title Award Category Result Ref.
1992 The Ones You Do Hammett Prize — Special Mention
1998 Tomato Red Hammett Prize — Shortlisted
1999 PEN Center USA Literary Award Fiction Won [11]
2000 International Dublin Literary Award — Longlisted [12]
2006 Winter's Bone Los Angeles Times Book Prize Fiction Finalist
2011 Audie Award Fiction Won
2013 The Death of Sweet Mister RUSA CODES Listen List — Selection
2013 The Maid's Version Los Angeles Times Book Prize Fiction Finalist
2014 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize Fiction Won
Maine Readers' Choice Award — Longlisted
2015 International Dublin Literary Award — Longlisted

Bibliography

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Books

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  • Under the Bright Lights (Henry Holt, 1986)
  • Woe to Live On (Henry Holt, 1987)
  • Muscle for the Wing (Henry Holt, 1988)
  • The Ones You Do (Henry Holt, 1992)
  • Give Us a Kiss: A Country Noir (Henry Holt, 1996)
  • Tomato Red (Henry Holt, 1998)
  • The Death of Sweet Mister (Putnam, 2001)
  • Winter's Bone (Little, Brown, 2006)
  • The Outlaw Album (Little, Brown, 2011)
  • The Maid's Version (Little, Brown, 2013)

Omnibus

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  • The Bayou Trilogy (Mulholland Books, 2011) (collects Under the Bright Lights, Muscle for the Wing, and The Ones You Do)

Filmography

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References

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  1. ^ a b Lin Waterhouse (March 2007). "Daniel Woodrell: Voice Of The Other Ozarks". Ozarks Magazine. Archived from the original on 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  2. ^ Becky Ohlsen (n.d.). "Review: The Death of Sweet Mister". Bookreporter.com. Retrieved 2007-03-30. (For one example of "country noir" used in a later review.)
  3. ^ "ReadMOre: Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell". JeffersonCountyLibrary.org. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-09-02. Retrieved 2007-04-01. (for birth date and location)
  4. ^ John Williams (2006-06-16). "Daniel Woodrell: The Ozark daredevil". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
  5. ^ Boyle, William (March 3, 2017). "On the Genius of Daniel Woodrell, the 'Battle-Hardened Bard of Meth Country'". Literary Hub.
  6. ^ "Winter's Bone". 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Sundance Institute. 2010. Archived from the original on April 20, 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  7. ^ Scott, A. O. (June 11, 2010). "Winter's Bone: Where Life Is Cold, and Kin Are Cruel" (Review). The New York Times. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  8. ^ "Winter's Bone". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. 2010. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  9. ^ Tomato Red, retrieved 2019-07-23
  10. ^ Percy, Benjamin (September 7, 2013). "The Outlaw". Esquire. Hearst Magazine Media. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "PEN USA Literary Awardees and Honorary Award Winners, 1978-2005" (PDF). penusa.org. n.d. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  12. ^ "2000 Award: Nominated Books". International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. n.d. Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
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