University of Richmond Writers Series: George Saunders April 6, 2011

George Saunders is the author of three collections of short stories: the bestselling “Pastoralia;” “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline,” a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award; and “In Persuasion Nation.” He is also the author of the illustrated novella “The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil” and the New York Times bestselling children’s book “The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip.” Renowned for depictions of consumer culture that range from absurd to poignant, Saunders’s stories have drawn favorable comparisons to the work of earlier postmodern writers, Kurt Vonnegut especially. In 2006, he received both a MacArthur Fellowship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He presently teaches in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University.

Official Website: http://news.richmond.edu/news/article/english/2160/english-department-announces-2010-2011-writers-series.html