Larry Watson (writer)

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| birth_place = Rugby, North Dakota, U.S.

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| alma_mater = Bismarck State College, University of North Dakota, University of Utah

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| notable_works = Montana 1948

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| awards = Milkweed National Fiction Prize (1993)

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Larry Watson (born 1947) is an American author of novels, poetry and short stories.

Early life

He was born in 1947 in Rugby, North Dakota. He grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. He graduated from Bismarck State College,{{cite news|title=Author Larry Watson appears at BSC Campus Read|url=http://www.bismarckstate.edu/news/?NID=377|access-date=November 25, 2015|publisher=Bismarck State College|date=February 23, 2014}} then earned both bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of North Dakota. He subsequently earned a Doctorate in creative writing from the University of Utah.Biographical data included with {{cite book|title= Montana 1948 |publisher= Milkweed Editions |year=1993|isbn=9780915943135 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.larry-watson.com/bio.htm|title=Biography - Larry Watson|website=www.larry-watson.com|access-date=2017-10-12}}

Career

His short story "Where I Go, What I Do" was included in the anthology The Best American Short Stories in 1978. His first novel, In a Dark Time, was published in 1980. The book did not sell well, delaying Watson's plans for a second novel. But Montana 1948, published in 1993, was a success, winning the Milkweed National Fiction Prize that year{{cite news |last=Rogers |first=Ken |date=1993-09-26 |title=Prairie writer takes serious approach to telling stories |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/346512034/ |work=The Bismarck Tribune |location=Bismarck, North Dakota |access-date=2021-05-05 }} and going on to sell more than half a million copies. The Washington Post called Montana 1948 "a significant and elegant addition to the fiction of the American West, and to contemporary American fiction in general." The book follows the story of a Montana family and involves the sexual assault and murder of a Native American woman. The book has been taught frequently in high schools, but its subject matter has been the subject of controversy. In 2020, Henry Sibley High School in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, announced that it would stop teaching the novel temporarily until fuller cultural context of the book's setting could be taught as well.{{cite news |last=Klecker |first=Mara |date=2020-12-28 |title=High school halts teaching of 2 books |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/702834614/ |work=Star Tribune |location=Minneapolis, Minnesota |access-date=2021-05-05 }}

His subsequent novels include Orchard, Laura, Justice, and White Crosses.{{cite news |last=Danielson |first=Lynn |date=2006-04-17 |title=Libraries to bring Watson for 2 events |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/522387085/ |work=The Capital Times |location=Madison, Wisconsin |access-date=2021-05-05 }} Esquire magazine called his 2011 novel American Boy one of the best books of that year.{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Steve |date=2012-02-26 |title=Plain-spoken man: Larry Watson writes with quiet power nearly 20 years after 'Montana 1948' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/234345328/ |work=Chicago Tribune |location=Chicago, Illinois |access-date=2021-05-05 }}

Watson's 2013 novel 'Let Him Go', has been made into a film, directed by Thomas Bezucha, and starring Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Lesley Manville. Filmed in Calgary in 2019, it was released by Focus Features in November 2020.Let Him Go{{Circular reference|date=September 2023}}

Watson taught writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point for 25 years before joining the faculty at Marquette University in 2003 as a visiting professor.

Bibliography

=Novels=

{{cite book|title= In A Dark Time |publisher= Simon & Schuster |year=1980 |isbn=9780671551643 }}{{cite book|author=Larry Watson|title=In a Dark Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mONJXlVI7nIC|date=April 1998|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-0-671-55164-3}}
{{cite book|title= Montana 1948 |publisher= Milkweed Editions |year=1993|isbn=9780915943135 }}
{{cite book|title= Justice |publisher= Washington Square Press |year=1996|isbn=9780671535575}}, collected fiction
{{cite book |title= White Crosses |publisher= Washington Square Press |year= 1998 |isbn= 9780671567736 |url= https://archive.org/details/whitecrossesnove00wats }}
{{cite book |title= Laura |publisher= Pocket Books |year= 2000 |isbn= 9780671567743 |url= https://archive.org/details/laurawats00wats }}
{{cite book|title= Orchard |publisher= Random House Publishing Group |year=2004|isbn=9780375758546 }}
{{cite book|title= Sundown, Yellow Moon |publisher= Random House |year=2007|isbn=9780375507229 }}
{{cite book |title= American Boy |publisher= Milkweed Editions |year= 2011 |isbn= 9781571310781 |url= https://archive.org/details/americanboy00wats_0 }}
{{cite book |title= Let Him Go |publisher= Milkweed Editions |year= 2013 |isbn= 9781571311023 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/lethimgonovel0000wats }}
{{cite book|title= As Good as Gone |publisher= Algonquin Books |year=2016|isbn=9781616205713 }}
{{cite book|title= The Lives of Edie Pritchard |publisher= Algonquin Books |year=2020|isbn=9781616209025 }}

=Poetry=

{{cite book|author=Watson, Larry|title= Leaving Dakota |publisher= Song Press |year=1983}}
Watson, Larry (2019). Late Assignments. Standing Stone Books.

Honors

Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (1987, 2004)
Grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board
Milkweed National Fiction Prize (1993) for Montana 1948
Friends of American Writers Award
Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Award (1994)[http://www.mountainsplains.org/regionalbookawards.aspx Mountains and Plains Independent Booksellers Association Award] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211124504/http://www.mountainsplains.org/regionalbookawards.aspx |date=2008-12-11 }}
New York Public Library Fiction Award
Wisconsin Library Association Award
Critics’ Choice Award
High Plains Book Awards