Emma Cline
{{short description|American writer}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Emma Cline
| image = Emma Cline au festival America 2022 thumbnail.png
| caption = Cline in 2022
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = 1989
| birth_place = Sonoma County, California, U.S.
| death_date =
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| occupation = Author, writer
| education =Middlebury College
Columbia University (MFA){{cite web|url=http://arts.columbia.edu/writing/2014/emma-cline/|title=Recent Grad Emma Cline ('13) Nets Major Book Deal|date=29 October 2014|publisher=Columbia University School of the Arts Writing Program|access-date=12 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222120042/http://arts.columbia.edu/writing/2014/emma-cline|archive-date=22 December 2016|url-status=dead}}
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| notableworks = The Girls
| spouse =
| children =
| awards =2014 Plimpton Prize{{cite web|url=http://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/03/12/emma-cline-wins-plimpton-prize-ben-lerner-wins-terry-southern-prize/|title=Emma Cline Wins Plimpton Prize; Ben Lerner Wins Terry Southern Prize|date=12 March 2014|publisher=The Paris Review|access-date=12 December 2016}}
| signature =
| website =
}}
Emma Cline is an American writer and novelist from California.{{cite web|url=http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/faq-emma-cline-manson-family-novel.html|title=13 Things to Know About Emma Cline and Her $2 Million Manson-Family Novel|last=Kachka|first=Boris|date=9 October 2014|publisher=Vulture|access-date=18 July 2016}} She published her first novel, The Girls, in 2016, to positive reviews. The book was shortlisted for the John Leonard Prize from the National Book Critics Circle{{Cite web|url=http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/announcing-the-nbccleonard-award-finalists|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203170127/http://bookcritics.org/blog/archive/announcing-the-nbccleonard-award-finalists|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 3, 2016|title=National Book Critics Circle: Announcing the #NBCCLeonard Award Finalists - Critical Mass Blog|website=bookcritics.org|language=en|access-date=2017-01-19}} and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.{{Cite web|url=http://centerforfiction.org/awards/the-first-novel-prize/2016-first-novel-prize-short-list/|title=The Center for Fiction|website=centerforfiction.org|access-date=2017-01-19}} Her story collection, Daddy, was published in 2020, and her second novel, The Guest, was published in 2023. Her stories have been published in The New Yorker, Tin House, Granta, and The Paris Review. In 2017, Cline was named one of Granta's Best of Young American Novelists, and Forbes named her one of their "30 Under 30 in Media". She is a recipient of the Plimpton Prize and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.
Life and career
= Personal life =
Cline, born in 1989, was raised in Sonoma County, California.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/01/books/emme-cline-lawsuit-boies.html|title=Sex, Plagiarism and Spyware. This Is Not Your Average Copyright Complaint.|last=Alter|first=Alexandra|date=2017-12-01|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-02-24|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} She was the second of seven children in her family.{{Cite news |last=Brockes |first=Emma |date=2023-05-13 |title='I was a bad child actor. Extremely bad': Emma Cline on the follow up to her hit novel The Girls |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/may/13/i-was-a-bad-child-actor-extremely-bad-emma-cline-on-the-follow-up-to-her-hit-novel-the-girls |access-date=2024-04-03 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} After graduating from Sonoma Academy, at age 16, Cline attended Middlebury College, where she studied art. During her first year there, she won a writing award for her short story, "What is Lost". After graduating, Cline attended Columbia University, where she received her MFA in 2013. While at Columbia, she wrote "Marion", a short piece of fiction, which was published by The Paris Review in their Summer 2013 issue. A year later, The Paris Review awarded Cline the Plimpton Prize for the story.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/03/12/emma-cline-wins-plimpton-prize-ben-lerner-wins-terry-southern-prize/|title=Emma Cline Wins Plimpton Prize; Ben Lerner Wins Terry Southern Prize|date=2014-03-12|website=The Paris Review|language=en|access-date=2018-02-24}} Since then, her writing has been published in multiple journals.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/06/06/the-girls-by-emma-cline|title=Cults and Carnage in the Summer of '69|last=Wood|first=James|date=2016-05-30|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2018-02-24|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}
= ''The Girls'' =
File:Emma Cline en Librairie Mollat.jpg
Cline's first novel, The Girls, was published in 2016 by Random House Publishing. She was offered a $2 million advance by Random House, who outbid 11 other publishers for the novel.{{Cite journal|last=Williams|first=Wilda|date=15 June 2016|title=Q&A|journal=Library Journal|volume=141|pages=64|via=Academic Search Complete}} American film producer Scott Rudin bought the film rights to the book, shortly before it was acquired by Random House.{{Cite news|url=http://www.vulture.com/2014/10/faq-emma-cline-manson-family-novel.html|title=13 Things to Know About Emma Cline and Her $2 Million Manson-Family Novel|date=2014-10-09|work=Vulture|access-date=2018-05-18|language=en}} The novel is based, in part, on the Charles Manson cult and murders of the late 1960s. The story is told from the view point of Evie Boyd, a fourteen-year-old girl, whose childhood is changed when she is introduced to a cult. As an adult, Evie reflects on her actions, as a child, bringing up questions of what it means to grow up as a girl and how injustice, in the world, can lead to terrible violence. While Cline is celebrated for her descriptive abilities and attention to gender structures, critics have also said that the cult setting seemed unnecessary to the novel and left the ending feeling unfulfilled. Still, the book was well received by the general public, and The Girls spent three months on The New York Times Best Seller list. It won the 2016 Shirley Jackson Award for Best Novel.{{Cite web |title=2016 Shirley Jackson Awards Winners |url=https://www.shirleyjacksonawards.org/award-winners/2016-shirley-jackson-award-winners/ |access-date=July 31, 2023 |website=The Shirley Jackson Awards}} The movie production for the novel is in the development stages.
= ''Daddy'' =
Cline's short story collection, Daddy, was published in 2020 by Random House Publishing.{{Cite web |title=Daddy by Emma Cline: 9780812988048 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/251796/daddy-by-emma-cline/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=PenguinRandomhouse.com |language=en-US}} The New York Times called Cline "an astonishingly gifted stylist."{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Brandon |date=2020-09-01 |title=Emma Cline Knows First World Problems |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/books/review/emma-cline-daddy.html |access-date=2022-06-09 |issn=0362-4331}}
= ''The Guest'' =
In May 2023, an exclusive excerpt from Cline's second novel The Guest appeared in Vogue.{{cite web |last1=Cline |first1=Emma |title=Read an Exclusive Excerpt from Emma Cline's New Novel |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/emma-cline-novel-the-guest-excerpt |website=Vogue |date=May 2023 |access-date=May 8, 2023}} The book was published by Random House on May 16, 2023.{{cite news |last1=Veitch |first1=Mara |title=Author Emma Cline on the Vision That Sparked Her Smoldering New Novel |url=https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2023/05/16/author-emma-cline-the-guest |access-date=9 June 2023 |publisher=Cultured |date=16 May 2023}} The New York Times wrote that the novel "could be read as an entertaining series of misguided shenanigans interrupting the upper class’s summer vacation, but under Cline’s command, every sentence as sharp as a scalpel, a woman toeing the line between welcome and unwelcome guest becomes a fully destabilizing force".{{cite web |last1=Jacobs |first1=Liska |title=Emma Cline's Latest Heroine Is a Call Girl on the Run |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/10/books/review/emma-cline-the-guest.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=May 23, 2023}} She has said that part of it was inspired by John Cheever's short story "The Swimmer."{{cite web |last1=Bonnet |first1=Louise |title=Emma Cline Tells Louise Bonnet About Her Eerie Novel The Guest |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/literature/emma-cline-tells-louise-bonnet-about-her-eerie-novel-the-guest |website=Interview Magazine |date=16 May 2023 |access-date=June 6, 2023}} The Guest was a national bestseller and was longlisted for the PEN/Faulkner Award.
= Other endeavors =
Cline is the co-founder, along with Peter Mendelsund, of Picture Books, an imprint of Gagosian Gallery. They have published work by Ottessa Moshfegh, Joy Williams, Percival Everett, Lydia Millet and Sam Lipsyte.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-15 |title=Picture Books |url=https://gagosian.com/news/2021/11/15/picture-books-imprint-emma-cline/ |access-date=2022-06-09 |website=Gagosian |language=en}}
In February 2017, Cline's former boyfriend Chaz Reetz-Laiolo made plagiarism accusations against Cline that were ultimately dismissed by a judge. Reetz-Laiolo said Cline installed a spyware program on his computer in order to read his personal work and emails without his consent. He demanded reparations and threatened to put forth a public court filing that included sexually explicit images and text messages of Emma Cline.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-the-super-lawyer-david-boies-turned-a-young-novelists-sexual-past-against-her|title=How the Lawyer David Boies Turned a Young Novelist's Sexual Past Against Her|last=Kolhatkar|first=Sheelah|date=2017-12-01|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=2018-02-24|language=en|issn=0028-792X}} Cline put forth a countersuit, arguing that the spyware was for her own protection because Reetz-Laiolo had been physically and emotionally abusive, and that the similarities between Reetz-Laito's work and The Girls was minimal. Random House issued a statement in support of Cline. In June 2018, the copyright claim was dismissed with prejudice by Judge William Orrick, who said, "Both stories are ‘coming of age’ tales of sorts. But they vary significantly in detail, breadth and texture" and called the behavior of Reetz-Laiolo's lawyers "remarkably offensive."{{Cite web |last=Flood |first=Alison |date=2018-07-03 |title=Emma Cline's ex-boyfriend's copyright claim dismissed |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/03/emma-cline-ex-boyfriend-copyright-claim-dismissed-the-girls |access-date=2018-08-24 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}
Awards
= Literary prizes =
= Honors =
- 2017 Granta Best of Young American Novelists{{Cite news |date=2017-04-26 |title=Granta's list of the best young American novelists |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/apr/26/granta-list-best-young-american-novelists |access-date=2024-04-18 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
- 2024 Guggenheim Fellowship{{Cite web |date=15 May 2024 |title=Announcements – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation… |url=https://www.gf.org/announcements/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515223904/https://www.gf.org/announcements/ |archive-date=15 May 2024}}
== Bibliography ==
= Books =
- {{Cite book |title=The Girls |publisher=Random House |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-8129-9860-3}}
- {{Cite book |title=Daddy: Stories |publisher=Random House |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-8129-9864-1}}
- {{Cite book |title=The Guest |publisher=Random House |year=2023 |isbn=978-0-8129-9862-7}}
= Short fiction =
- {{cite magazine|date=Summer 2006|title=Perseids|url=https://tinhouse.com/perseids-by-emma-cline/|magazine=Tin House|volume=7|issue=4}}
- {{cite magazine|date=Summer 2013|title=Marion|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/6232/marion-emma-cline|url-access=subscription|magazine=The Paris Review|issue=205}}
- {{cite magazine|date=July 13, 2016|title=Arcadia|url=https://granta.com/arcadia/|url-access=subscription|magazine=Granta}}
- {{cite magazine|date=April 3, 2017|title=Northeast Regional|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/10/northeast-regional|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=April 25, 2017|title=Los Angeles|url=https://granta.com/los-angeles-cline/|url-access=subscription|magazine=Granta}}
- {{cite magazine|date=January 28, 2019|title=What Can You Do with a General|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/02/04/what-can-you-do-with-a-general|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=June 24, 2019|title=Son of Friedman|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/01/son-of-friedman|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=Winter 2019|title=The Nanny|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/7475/the-nanny-emma-cline|url-access=subscription|magazine=The Paris Review|issue=231}}
- {{cite magazine|date=June 1, 2020|title=White Noise|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/06/08/white-noise|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=August 16, 2021|title=The Iceman|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/23/the-iceman|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=August 25, 2022|title=Certain European Movies|url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/flash-fiction/certain-european-movies|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
= Essays =
- {{cite magazine|date=March 17, 2014|title=See Me|url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2014/03/17/see-me/|magazine=The Paris Review}}
- {{cite magazine|date=July 7, 2016|title=The Corrupted American Innocence of Archie Comics|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-corrupted-american-innocence-of-archie-comics|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=October 13, 2017|title=Fleeing the Fires in Sonoma County|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/fleeing-the-fires-in-sonoma-county|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite news|date=November 14, 2017|title=The Drive Home|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/14/dining/emma-cline-thanksgiving.html|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited}}
- {{cite magazine|date=July 5, 2021|title=Haunted House|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/07/12/haunted-house|url-access=limited|magazine=The New Yorker}}
- {{cite magazine|date=November 17, 2022|title=The Erl-King|url=https://granta.com/the-erl-king-emma-cline/|magazine=Granta|issue=161}}
= Anthology =
- The Best American Short Stories 2017
- The Best American Short Stories 2018
- The Best American Short Stories 2020
- The Unprofessionals: New American Writing from The Paris Review
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cline, Emma}}
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:Middlebury College alumni
Category:Columbia University School of the Arts alumni
Category:American women novelists
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:Novelists from California
Category:American women short story writers
Category:21st-century American short story writers