Jess Walter (born July 20, 1965[1]) is an American author of seven novels, two collections of short stories, and a non-fiction book. He is the recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award, and was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2006.
Career
Walter has published seven novels, Over Tumbled Graves, Land of the Blind, Citizen Vince, The Zero, The Financial Lives of the Poets, Beautiful Ruins, and The Cold Millions. In 2013, he published his first collection of short stories, We Live in Water, which President Barack Obama named one of his favorite books in 2019.[2] In 2022, he published his second collection of short stories, The Angel of Rome. His essays and short stories have also appeared in Best American Short Stories, Best American Nonrequired Reading, McSweeny's, Esquire, Harper's, Byliner, Playboy, ESPN the Magazine, Details, and other publications.[3][third-party source needed] His books have been published in thirty-two countries and translated into thirty-two languages.[4]
Walter's novel Beautiful Ruins was a number one New York Times best seller.[5] It was also named Esquire's Book of the Year, NPR Fresh Air's Best Novel of 2012, a New York Times Notable Book, and a Washington Post Notable Book.[6] Maureen Corrigan of NPR's Fresh Air called this novel a "literary miracle"[7] and Steve Almond of The Boston Globe described it as "a novel with pathos, piercing wit, and, most important, the generous soul of a literary classic".[8]
His 2006 novel The Zero was a finalist for the National Book Award. In a 2006 Washington Post book review, John McNally writes that with The Zero Walter has "written a new thriller not only with a conscience but also full of dead-on insights into our culture ... and the often surreal post-9/11 world."[10]
Citizen Vince, Walter's 2005 novel, earned him the Edgar Allan Poe Award for best novel in 2006.[11]
