Bob Cowser

Bob Cowser, Jr. is the author of 3 nonfiction books, most recently GREEN FIELDS: CRIME, PUNISHMENT AND A BOYHOOD BETWEEN, which won "Best Memoir 2010" from the Adirondack Center for Writers and was cited in the BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2012. His first book DREAM SEASON was named a NEW YORK TIMES editor’s choice and was listed among the “best-ever college sports books” by THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION.

He is also the editor of 2 anthologies, most recently THE EDINBURGH COMPANION TO THE ESSAY (co-edited with Nicole Wallack and Mario Aquilina). He is also the editor of WHY WE’RE HERE: NEW YORK ESSAYISTS ON LIVING UPSTATE. His work has appeared widely in American literary magazines, including River Teeth, Fourth Genre, The Pinch, the Missouri Review, Prairie Schooner, Brevity, and Creative Nonfiction. He is the recipient of fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and he has presented at international conferences on Joyce, Cather, Hemingway, and Fitzgerald.

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Cowser grew up in rural west Tennessee. He graduated summa cum laude from Loyola-New Orleans in 1992 with majors in English and Print Journalism, then earned a Master's in English at Marquette University in 1994 and a PhD in creative writing from the University of Nebraska in 1998. Since 1998, Cowser has been Professor of English at St. Lawrence University, where he teaches courses in nonfiction writing and American literature and film. He was named the 2012 Owen D. Young Outstanding Faculty Member. He has lived and taught abroad in France, England, and Denmark.