Geoffrey Becker

Geoffrey Becker's latest novel, Hot Springs (Tin House, 2010), was a Sunday New York Times Editors' Choice, and his recent story collection, Black Elvis (U. of Georgia Press,2009), won the 2008 Flannery O'Connor Prize for Short Fiction. His previous books are: Dangerous Men, (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995),a collection which won the Drue Heinz Literature Prize; and Bluestown, a novel (St. Martin's Press, 1996). His story, "Black Elvis," was selected by E.L. Doctorow for The Best American Short Stories, 2000. Other awards he has received include the Parthenon Prize, the Nelson Algren Prize from the Chicago Tribune, a James Michener Fellowship, an NEA fellowship, a Heekin Foundation fellowship, two Maryland Arts Council Awards, and the Great Lakes Colleges Association Award for best first book of fiction.

Born in Boston, Geoff grew up in Princeton, NJ, and attended Colby College in Maine, where he majored in English, and also studied music. In the early '80s, he lived in Brooklyn, NY, where he played guitar and performed both solo and in various bands at venues including The Lone Star Cafe, O'Lunney's Country Music City, and the Eagle Tavern. Later, he earned an MFA from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he was also active on the local music scene. He teaches fiction writing at Towson University, and in the low-residency MFA program of Queens University, Charlotte.