Ben Loory

Raised in Dover, New Jersey, Loory attended Dover High School.Smith, Bud. [https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/ben-loory-interview "Ben Loory Interview"], Hobart Pulp, May 28, 2018. Accessed March 6, 2021. "I grew up in a small town called Dover, which is about a half hour west of New York, off Route 46."O'Dea, Colleen. [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/98119776/ben-loory-at-dover-high-school/ "Young playwrights stage plots at workshop"], Daily Record, November 14, 1985. Accessed March 21, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "'"I thought we could just take a story and turn it into a play, but this is a lot harder,' said Ben Loory, a ninth-grader from Dover High School, who wrote a play last week entitled 'A Viking Story Kind Of,' which he plans to submit to the statewide competition."

Loory graduated from Harvard University magna cum laude in 1993 with a BA in Visual & Environmental Studies, and earned an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute in 1996.

Loory's first collection, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day, was published by Penguin in 2011.{{Cite book |isbn = 978-0143119500|title = Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day|last1 = Loory|first1 = Ben|year = 2011| publisher=Penguin Books }} It was a Fall Selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program{{Cite web|url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/discover-great-new-writers/379001111/|title=Discover great new writers}} and an August Selection of the Starbucks Coffee Bookish Reading Club.{{cite web|url=http://bookishreadingclub.com/books/9781101529287|title=Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory - Read great books by top authors for FREE while at Starbucks|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110825155251/http://bookishreadingclub.com/books/9781101529287|archivedate=August 25, 2011|url-status=dead|accessdate=2011-09-11|df=mdy-all}} Loory's second collection, Tales of Falling and Flying, was published by Penguin in 2017.{{Cite book|title=Tales of Falling and Flying|last=results|first=search|date=2017-09-05|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=9780143130109|language=English}} It earned a starred review from Kirkus,{{Cite book|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ben-loory/tales-of-falling-and-flying/|title=TALES OF FALLING AND FLYING by Ben Loory {{!}} Kirkus Reviews|last=|first=|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en-us}} was called "mesmerizing and magical" by NPR,{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2017/09/07/547560139/people-and-animals-falling-and-flying-make-for-a-hypnotic-read|title = People and Animals, 'Falling and Flying,' Make for a Hypnotic Read| website=NPR | date=September 7, 2017 | last1=Schaub | first1=Michael }} and was named a Favorite Book of the Year by the staff of the Paris Review.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/12/22/paris-review-staffs-favorite-books-2017/|title=The Paris Review Staff's Favorite Books of 2017|date=2017-12-22|website=The Paris Review|language=en|access-date=2018-09-11}} It has since been called one of the "50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time" by Esquire Magazine,{{Cite web |date=2022-03-11 |title=The 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g39385874/best-fantasy-books/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=Esquire |language=en-US}} and one of the "25 Best Fantasy Books of All Time" by Good Housekeeping.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-15 |title=If You Love 'Lord of the Rings," You Need to Read the Condor Trilogy |url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/g43891727/best-fantasy-books/ |access-date=2023-06-04 |website=Good Housekeeping |language=en-US}}

Loory has published more than one hundred short stories in magazines and journals including The New Yorker,{{Cite magazine |last=Loory |first=Ben |date=2010-04-05 |title=The TV |language=en-US |magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/04/12/the-tv |access-date=2023-07-16 |issn=0028-792X}} Electric Literature,{{Cite news |date=2018-06-11 |title=If You Remodel It, They Will Come – Electric Literature |work=Electric Literature |url=https://electricliterature.com/if-you-remodel-it-they-will-come-2f1e6e73d3a9 |access-date=2018-09-11}} Uncharted Magazine,{{Cite web |title=The Man with the Hand of Gold |url=https://www.unchartedmag.com/stories/the-man-with-the-hand-of-gold/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=Uncharted |language=en-US}} The Kenyon Review,{{Cite news |title=The Friend with the Knife in His Back {{!}} Kenyon Review Online |language=en-US |work=The Kenyon Review |url=https://www.kenyonreview.org/kr-online-issue/2018-julyaug/selections/ben-loory-342846/ |access-date=2018-09-11}} Tin House,{{Cite news|url=https://tinhouse.com/the-ostrich-and-the-aliens/|title=The Ostrich and The Aliens {{!}} Tin House|date=2015-06-05|work=Tin House|access-date=2018-09-11|language=en-US}} Sewanee Review,{{Cite web |title=The Wheelbarrow |url=http://thesewaneereview.com/articles/the-wheelbarrow |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=The Sewanee Review |language=en-US}} The Adroit Journal,{{Cite web |date=2019-10-12 |title=Issue Thirty: Ben Loory {{!}} The Adroit Journal - The Adroit Journal |url=https://theadroitjournal.org/issue-thirty/ben-loory-prose/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |language=en-US}} A Public Space,{{Cite web |title=The Magic Mountain |url=https://apublicspace.org/magazine/detail/,%20https://apublicspace.org/magazine/detail/the-magic-mountain |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=A Public Space |language=en}} Fairy Tale Review,{{Cite web |date=2018-05-23 |title=The Lemon Tree {{!}} Fairy Tale Review |url=https://www.fairytalereview.com/the-lemon-tree/ |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=www.fairytalereview.com |language=en-US}} Wigleaf,{{Cite web |title=Loory: 'Mystery (The Third Man)' |url=https://wigleaf.com/201811third.htm |access-date=2023-06-30 |website=wigleaf.com}} Craft Literary,{{Cite web |last=Loory |first=Ben |date=2022-02-11 |title=Bear by Ben Loory |url=https://www.craftliterary.com/2022/02/11/bear-ben-loory/ |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=CRAFT |language=en-US}} BOMB Magazine,{{Cite web |title="God" by Ben Loory |url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/ben-loory/}} and TriQuarterly.{{Cite web |title=The White Bird of the Forest |url=https://www.triquarterly.org/issues/white-bird-forest |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=TriQuarterly |language=en}} His story "The TV" was named a Distinguished Story of the Year in The 2011 Best American Short Stories anthology.{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780547242088|title=The Best American Short Stories 2011|date=2011-10-04|publisher=Mariner Books|isbn=9780547242163|editor-last=Brooks|editor-first=Geraldine|edition=1st|location=Boston|language=English|editor-last2=Pitlor|editor-first2=Heidi|url-access=registration}}

Three of Loory's stories ("The Duck," "The Man and the Moose," and "Death and the Fruits of the Tree") have been heard on This American Life,{{Cite news|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/archive?contributor=8855|title=Archive - This American Life|work=This American Life|access-date=2018-10-02}} and many more have been performed at Selected Shorts,{{Cite news|url=https://benloory.com/2015/07/31/the-tv-on-selected-shorts/|title="The TV" on Selected Shorts|date=2015-07-31|work=Ben Loory|access-date=2018-10-02|language=en-US}} including "The Book," "The TV," and "The Man and the Moose" from Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day,{{Cite web |date=2015-02-21 |title=Books |url=https://benloory.com/books/ |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Ben Loory |language=en}} and "The Dodo," "The Cape," "The Frog and the Bird," "The Monster," "Death and the Lady," and "The Man, the Restaurant, and the Eiffel Tower" from Tales of Falling and Flying.{{Cite web |date=2015-02-21 |title=Books |url=https://benloory.com/books/ |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Ben Loory |language=en}} On December 12, 2018, a dance adaptation of Loory's story "The Cape," choreographed by Gabrielle Lamb of Pigeonwing Dance, was performed at Symphony Space in New York as part of the Selected Shorts "Dance in America" event,{{Cite web|url=https://www.symphonyspace.org/events/selected-shorts-dance-in-america|title=Selected Shorts: Dance in America|date=December 12, 2018 }} and on March 26, 2022, a short film by animator Michael Arthur inspired by Loory's story "Dandelions" was shown as part of the "Wall to Wall Selected Shorts" event.{{Cite web |title=Wall To Wall Selected Shorts |url=https://www.symphonyspace.org/programs/selected-shorts-wall-to-wall |access-date=2023-07-16 |website=Symphony Space |language=en}}

As a screenwriter, Loory has worked for Jodie Foster, Alex Proyas, Mark Johnson, and others. He has also contributed creative non-fiction to the online arts and culture magazine The Nervous Breakdown.

Loory is also a musician. He was a member of Soda & his Million Piece Band, in which he played mandolin and baritone saxophone. Their music was featured in the soundtrack for the film Waitress (2007), directed by Adrienne Shelly.

• Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day (2011)
• The Baseball Player and the Walrus (2015)
• Tales of Falling and Flying (2017)

{{Reflist}}

• [http://benloory.com/ Ben Loory's author website]
• [https://www.facebook.com/benamuckee/ Ben Loory's Facebook page]
• [https://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/2010/04/this-week-in-fiction-ben-loory.html The New Yorker: Book Bench]
• [http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/fiction/ben-loory/stories-nighttime-and-some-day/ Kirkus Reviews: Starred Review of Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day]
• [https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ben-loory/tales-of-falling-and-flying/ Kirkus Reviews: Starred Review of Tales of Falling and Flying]
• [https://www.avclub.com/ben-loory-stories-for-nighttime-and-some-for-the-day-1798169194 AV Club Review: Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day]
• [http://htmlgiant.com/author-spotlight/then-disappear-then-rise-again-an-interview-with-ben-loory/ Then Disappear & Then Rise Again: An Interview with Ben Loory]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhPuG-7WI5M Ben Loory reading his story "The Dodo"]
• [https://www.thisamericanlife.org/archive?contributor=8855 Ben Loory on This American Life]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110821044920/http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2011/aug/18/ben-loorys-emstories-nighttime-and-some-dayem/ Ben Loory on The Leonard Lopate Show (audio interview)]

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Category:1971 births

Category:21st-century American short story writers

Category:American male writers

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:Living people

Category:People from Dover, New Jersey

Category:Writers from Morris County, New Jersey