Manuel Muñoz (writer)

Manuel Muñoz is an American novelist, short story

Biography
Muñoz was born in Dinuba, California, a small city in
the Central Valley of California, to a family of
Mexican-American farm workers. Despite his family's
economic woes – and his occasionally having to lend a
hand during the grape harvest – Muñoz performed very
well in school.[1] He graduated from Harvard
University in 1994,[2] and went on to earn a Masters in
Fine Arts from Cornell University in 1998[3] He met
Helena María Viramontes, who has had an important
influence on his work, at Cornell. Muñoz considers her
to be "his literary godmother."[1] Muñoz at the 2022 Texas Book Festival.

He moved to New York City in 2001, where he lived Born Dinuba, California, United
until 2008 when he accepted a position as Assistant States

Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Occupation Novelist, short story writer,
Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.[4] college professor
Education Harvard College (AB)
Cornell University (MFA)
Writing career Period Late 20th–early 21st century
Genre Literary fiction
Muñoz's early writing appeared in various Notable "Zigzagger", "What You See In
publications, notably Rush Hour, Swink, Epoch, works The Dark"
Glimmer Train, Edinburgh Review, and Boston
Website
Review.[5] His first collection of short stories,
[Link] ([Link]
Zigzagger, was published in 2003. Most of the stories
[Link]/)
in this first tome are set in the rural towns of the
Central Valley of California, which resemble his
hometown of Dinuba. Muñoz has noted that the Central Valley has functioned as "reservoir of creativity"
for him.[2] David Ebershoff in a review for the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Muñoz has created a wholly
authentic vision of contemporary California— one that has little to do with coastlines, cities or silicon. ...
Zigzagger heralds the arrival of a gifted and sensitive writer."[6] Helena María Viramontes wrote that
"Zigzagger is not merely a contribution to Latina/o letters, but a major breakthrough."[6]
His second collection of short fiction, The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue, was shortlisted for the 2007
Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award.[5] Like Zigzagger, The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue
takes place in a small community in the Central Valley. Jeff Turrentine of The New York Times wrote of
the collection: "His stories are far too rich to be classified under the limiting rubrics of "gay" or
"Chicano" fiction; they have a softly glowing, melancholy beauty that transcends those categories and
makes them universal."[7]

In his first novel, What You See In The Dark (2011), Muñoz moves away from the familiar rural settings
of the Central Valley to the set of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho in 1950s Bakersfield, California. Muñoz
uses the second person singular to draw his reader into the novel.[8] A starred review in Publishers
Weekly called What You See In The Dark a "stellar first novel. [...] The lyrical prose and sensitive
portrayal of the crime's ripple effect in the small community elevate this far beyond the typical noir."[8]

Awards
2006 National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship[9]
2007 Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award shortlisted[5]
2008 Whiting Award[5]
2009 PEN/O. Henry Award for his story "Tell Him About Brother John."[10]
2015 PEN/O. Henry Award for his story "The Happiest Girl in the USA."
2017 PEN/O. Henry Award for his story "The Reason Is Because"[11]
The Best American Short Stories 2019 includes "Anyone Can Do It"
New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship[5]
2023 Joyce Carol Oates Prize
2023 MacArthur Fellow ("genius grant")

Works
Zigzagger ([Link] Northwestern University Press.
2003. ISBN 978-0-8101-2098-3. "Manuel Muñoz Zigzagger."
The Faith Healer of Olive Avenue ([Link]
Algonquin Books Of Chapel Hill. 2007. ISBN 978-1-56512-532-2.
What You See in the Dark ([Link] Algonquin
Books Of Chapel Hill. 2011. ISBN 978-1-56512-533-9.
The Consequences. Graywolf Press. 2022. ISBN 978-1-64445-206-6.

References
1. Manuel Muñoz (2006). "Bio : Manuel Muñoz" ([Link]
7/[Link] Author's Website. Archived from the original (htt
p://[Link]/about) on December 7, 2017. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
2. Nell Porter Brown (May–Jun 2011). "Echoes of the Central Valley: A Chicano writer mines
the "humanizing effect of literature." " ([Link]
entral-valley?page=all). Harvard Magazine. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
 3. Daniel Aloi (Nov 4, 2008). "Creative writing alum Muñoz wins Whiting Award" ([Link]
[Link]/stories/Nov08/[Link]). Cornell Chronicle Online. Retrieved
February 19, 2013.
4. Manuel Muñoz (2013). "Department of English" ([Link]
p://[Link]/person/mu%C3%B1oz-manuel). University of Arizona, Department
of English website. Archived from the original ([Link]
1oz-manuel) on April 3, 2013. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
5. "Manuel Muñoz homepage" ([Link] manuel-
muñ[Link]. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
6. Manuel Muñoz. "Reviews" ([Link]
manuel-muñ[Link]. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
7. "Fiction Chronicle" ([Link]
0&ref=bookreviews&pagewanted=all). "The New York Times", Jeff Turrentine, August 5,
2007. August 5, 2007.
8. "Fiction Review: What You See In The Dark, by Manuel Muñoz" ([Link]
[Link]/978-1-56512-533-9). Publishers Weekly. January 17, 2011. Retrieved February 19,
2013.
9. "NEA Writer's Corner: Manuel Muñoz" ([Link]
[Link]?id=06_36). [Link]. 2006. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
10. "Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories: Manuel Muñoz" ([Link]
spotlight/[Link]). [Link]. Retrieved February 19, 2013.
11. "The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017: 9780525432500 | [Link]: Books" (h
ttps://[Link]/books/550313/the-o-henry-prize-stories-2017-by-laur
a-furman-editor-prize-jury-david-bradley-elizabeth-mccracken-brad-watson/).
[Link]. Retrieved 2022-03-06.

External links
Profile at The Whiting Foundation ([Link]
"INTERVIEW WITH MANUEL MUÑOZ", La Bloga, May 28 2007 ([Link]
m/2007/05/[Link])
"Exclusive Interview: Whiting Winner Manuel Munoz on the Writing Vote", mediabistro (http
s://[Link]/web/20081204105117/[Link]
lusive_interview_whiting_winner_manuel_munoz_on_the_writing_vote_99230.asp)

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