Jayne Anne Phillips

Jayne Anne Phillips is an author recognized for her contributions to contemporary fiction, poetry, and short stories. Phillips graduated from West Virginia University and earned an M.F.A. in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa. Her short stories have appeared in publications such as Esquire, Harper's, and Granta, and have been widely anthologized. She is won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel "Night Watch."

Phillips gained national attention with the publication of her story collection, "Black Tickets." The collection has become a classic of the short story genre. Her debut novel, "Machine Dreams," further established her reputation, chronicling the Hampson family from World War II to the Vietnam War. The novel was named one of the 12 Best Books of the Year by the New York Times and appeared on several bestseller lists.

Phillips has continued to explore themes of family, war, and Appalachian identity in her novels, including "Shelter," which received an Academy Award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; "MotherKind," winner of the New England Book Award; "Lark and Termite," a National Book Award finalist; and "Quiet Dell," recognized by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best works of fiction. "Quiet Dell" is based on the true story of the 1931 murders of a Chicago widow and her three children, focusing on a Chicago Tribune journalist's pursuit of justice. Phillips' works have been translated into multiple languages.

Her novel "Night Watch" is set in West Virginia's Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in the aftermath of the Civil War and follows a wounded Union veteran, a 12-year-old girl, and her mother as they struggle to heal. "Night Watch" is the third in a trilogy of war novels that includes "Machine Dreams" and "Lark and Termite." Phillips has received a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Bunting Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, an Arts and Letters Award, and the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Phillips has held teaching positions at Harvard University, Williams College, Brandeis University, and Boston University, and serves as professor of English and founder/director of the Rutgers University–Newark Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing Program. The Atlantic included the Rutgers–Newark MFA program in its list of "Five Up-and-Coming" creative writing programs in the United States. Her nonfiction book, "Small Town Girls," is a memoir in essays that combines coming-of-age narrative with social history.