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Benjamin Hale | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 20, 1983 Hayward, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Education | Sarah Lawrence College (BA) University of Iowa (MFA) |
Benjamin Hale (born August 20, 1983 in Hayward, California) is an American novelist based in Brooklyn, New York. [1] He was raised in Boulder, Colorado, where he attended Fairview High School. In 2006, he received a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and earned an M.F.A. in 2008 from the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he received an Iowa Provost's Fellowship and a Michener-Copernicus Award. [2] Since 2013, Hale has taught fiction and literature at Bard College as a Writer in Residence. [3]
Hale's first novel, The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore, was released by Twelve Books on February 2, 2011 [4] to largely positive reviews. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] The novel tells the story of an extraordinarily precocious chimpanzee who learns to speak in English and develops a romantic relationship with a human female primatologist. [4] Narrated in the protagonist ape's own voice, the novel depicts Bruno Littlemore's development from a captive zoo animal into a virtually-human aesthete and intellectual, often highlighting his struggle to negotiate the human and animal aspects of his character. The Evolution of Bruno Littlemore garnered Hale the 2012 Bard Fiction Prize, [13] as well as nominations for the 2011 Dylan Thomas Prize [14] and the 2012 New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. [15]
Hale's second work of fiction, a collection of short stories titled The Fat Artist and Other Stories, was published by Simon and Schuster in 2016. Critics have described these stories as "excellent," [16] "jarring," [17] "erudite," [18] and "wry." [19]
Hale's non-fiction work has appeared in Harper's [20] and The Millions. [21]
He is represented by DeFiore and Company, [2] and is currently working on a new novel. Benjamin often loses at chess to his brother in law Sam Millard, but enjoys chess anyway. He currently lives in the Hudson valley.
