Michael Thomas (Man Gone Down author): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Writer |
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| name = Michael Thomas |
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| birthplace = [[Boston]], [[United States]] |
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| occupation = [[Author]] |
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| nationality = [[United States|American]] |
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| education = [[Bachelor's degree]] |
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| alma_mater = [[Hunter College]] |
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| notableworks = ''[[Man Gone Down]]'' |
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| spouse = Yes |
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| children = Three |
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| awards = [[International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award]] (2009)}} |
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'''Michael Thomas''' is an [[United States|American]] author. He won the 2009 [[International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award]] for his debut novel, ''Man Gone Down'', receiving a prize of [[Euro|€]]100,000. ''[[Man Gone Down]]'' is also recommended by ''[[The New York Times]]''. |
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==Early and personal life== |
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Thomas was born and raised in [[Boston]].<ref name="Debut novel by US writer wins Impac"/><ref name="'Man gone down' wins IMPAC Dublin Literary Award"/> He studied for a bachelor's degree at [[Hunter College]] in [[New York City]], where he now teaches, and for a master's degree at [[Warren Wilson College]].<ref name="Grove">[http://www.groveatlantic.com/grove/bin/wc.dll?groveproc~genauth~5177~0~bio Michael Thomas: ''Man Gone Down''] [[Grove Press]], author's biography.</ref> He currently lives in [[Brooklyn, New York]], with his wife and three children.<ref name="'Man gone down' wins IMPAC Dublin Literary Award">{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/national-news/man-gone-down-wins-impac-dublin-literary-award-1770857.html|title='Man gone down' wins IMPAC Dublin Literary Award|date=2009-06-11|accessdate=2009-06-11|publisher=''[[Irish Independent]]''}}</ref><ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> |
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In addition to his professorship at Hunter College Thomas has worked in bars, restaurants, at construction sites, as a pizza delivery man, on film sets and as a taxi driver.<ref>Ibid.</ref> |
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==Writing career== |
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Prior to garnering international attention, Michael Thomas wrote poetry and performed in the capacity of a singer-songwriter.<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> Later, while attending graduate school, he studied a fiction programme, with his thesis being a collection of short stories.<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> One of these short stories became his debut novel.<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> |
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===''Man Gone Down''=== |
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{{main article|Man Gone Down}} |
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{{Quote box | width=30% | align=right | quote= "One day I was doing my laundry and I realised the breaks were chapters, not pages, and I started writing a novel. I write to images, or lines, and the end came to me – the last two paragraphs, the last line. I was always writing to it. I had to get there."|source= <small>Thomas, on constructing ''Man Gone Down''.<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> </small> }} |
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Thomas's debut novel, ''Man Gone Down'', won the 2009 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award on 11 June 2009.<ref name="Debut novel by US writer wins Impac"/> The prize, which is the richest literary award in the world and is open to novels written in all languages,<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> was €100,000 ([[Pound sterling|£]]85,000, [[United States dollar|US$]]140,000).<ref name="'Man gone down' wins IMPAC Dublin Literary Award"/><ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/><ref name="African-American novel wins Irish literature prize"/> Thomas was the third author to win with their debut, following [[Andrew Miller]]'s ''[[Ingenious Pain]]'' (1999) and [[Rawi Hage]]'s ''[[De Niro's Game]]'' (2007).<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> The book received praise from the judges, who included [[James Ryan]], for its "energy and warmth" and for being "tuned urgently to the way we live now".<ref name="Debut novel by US writer wins Impac"/> Thomas said he had been "feeling a little desperate" during the writing of it.<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> |
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''Man Gone Down'' beat an international longlist of 147 titles from 41 countries, as well as seven other shortlisted nominations such as ''[[The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao]]'' by [[Junot Díaz]] and ''[[The Reluctant Fundamentalist]]'' by [[Mohsin Hamid]], as well as novels by established authors such as [[Doris Lessing]], [[Joyce Carol Oates]] and [[Philip Roth]].<ref name="Debut novel by US writer wins Impac"/><ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/><ref name="African-American novel wins Irish literature prize"/> It was nominated by the [[National Library Service of Barbados]].<ref name="African-American novel wins Irish literature prize"/> In 2007, ''Man Gone Down'' was named in the top ten of a list by ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref name="African-American novel wins Irish literature prize"/> Thomas attended the ceremony in [[Dublin]], saying he was "stunned" and "still waiting for the punch line".<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> He expressed his disbelief that he had even made the shortlist – "or the longlist, for that matter".<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> He expects to "pay some bills" with the money as well as "a mortgage, a half-built house".<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize">{{cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2009/jun/11/debut-novelist-impac-dublin-prize|title=Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize|date=2009-06-11|accessdate=2009-06-11|publisher=''[[The Guardian]]''}}</ref> |
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The novel deals with an African-American man who is estranged from his white wife and their children. He must come up with a sum of money within four days to have them returned.<ref name="Debut novel by US writer wins Impac">{{cite web|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0611/breaking49.htm|title=Debut novel by US writer wins Impac|date=2009-06-11|accessdate=2009-06-11|publisher=''[[The Irish Times]]''}}</ref><ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> It focuses on an attempt to achieve the [[American Dream]].<ref name="African-American novel wins Irish literature prize">{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/mediaNews/idUSLB71060020090611|title=African-American novel wins Irish literature prize|date=2009-06-11|accessdate=2009-06-11|publisher=[[Reuters]]}}</ref> Thomas describes ''Man Gone Down'' as having a "gallows humour".<ref name="African-American novel wins Irish literature prize"/> Thomas is currently working on his second book, intended to be non-fiction.<ref name="Debut novelist takes €100,000 Impac Dublin prize"/> |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Michael}} |
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[[Category:American fiction writers]] |
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[[Category:American non-fiction writers]] |
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[[Category:Hunter College alumni]] |
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[[Category:Hunter College faculty]] |
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[[Category:Living people]] |
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[[Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts]] |
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[[Category:People from Brooklyn]] |
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[[fi:Michael Thomas]] |
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