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Biography George Saunders

2023 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

George Saunders
George Saunders – credit © Zach Krahmer

George Saunders is the New York Times bestselling author of 12 books, including “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain;” “Lincoln in the Bardo,” which won the Man Booker Prize; “Congratulations, by the Way;” “Tenth of December,” a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the inaugural Folio Award; “The Braindead Megaphone;” and the story collections “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,” “Pastoralia,” and “In Persuasion Nation.” He is also the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship and Guggenheim Fellowship.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden selected Saunders as this year’s winner based on nominations from more than 88 distinguished literary figures, including former winners of the prize, acclaimed authors and literary critics from across the United States. “George Saunders has an uncanny ability to reveal the complexities of life and death in his writing; in doing so, he points to the truth of our shared human condition,” said Hayden. “I am pleased to recognize his literary achievements with this honor.”

“I’m honored to join the wonderful list of writers selected in the past by the Library of Congress for this prize,” Saunders said. “I look forward to this year’s National Book Festival and to working with the Library to further the art of fiction; an art form that can do so much to bring us together and deepen our empathy for, and interest in, one another.”

George Saunders is a professor of creative writing at Syracuse University.