Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi | |
---|---|
Born | 1983 (age 40–41) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Occupation | writer |
Education | |
Notable works |
|
Notable awards |
|
Website | |
azareenvandervlietoloomi |
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi (born 1983 in Los Angeles) is an Iranian-American writer. She won the 2015 Whiting Award for Fiction and the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi was born in 1983, [1] in Los Angeles, [2] to an Iranian mother and British father. [3] She spent much of her childhood in Iran and Spain but also lived in the United States, Scotland, and the United Arab Emirates. [2] She studied Latin American studies and creative writing at the University of California, San Diego, then completed her Master of Fine Arts in fiction at Brown University. [4] She speaks four languages. [2]
In 2012, Van der Vliet Oloomi published her first novel, Fra Keeler.
In 2015, she was honored as one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 [5] and won the Whiting Award for Fiction. [6]
Her second book, the unconventional bildungsroman Call Me Zebra, [7] won the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. [5] According to the judges, the novel "is a library within a library, a Borges-esque labyrinth of references from all cultures and all walks of life". [6] Call Me Zebra also received the John Gardner Award and was longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award. [5]
Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Guernica, Bomb, Los Angeles Review of Books [5] and The New York Times, among others. [4] It has been translated into Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, and Romanian. [8]
In addition to writing, Van der Vliet Oloomi is an associate professor of English at University of Notre Dame. [2] [3] She also founded "Literatures of Annihilation, Exile & Resistance, a lecture series sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame that brings together Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian and North African writers and artists." [5]
Van der Vliet Oloomi has received fellowships through the Fulbright Program, MacDowell, and Art Omi. [5] [8]
In 2015, the National Book Foundation selected Van der Vliet Oloomi for their annual "5 Under 35" honor. [5] [9]
Over twenty publications named Call Me Zebra one of the best books of 2019. [5]
Her short story "It Is What It Is" was included in The Best American Short Stories 2023.
Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Call Me Zebra | PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction | Winner | [5] [6] [10] |
PEN/Open Book Award | Longlist | [5] | ||
2015 | Whiting Award for Fiction | Winner | [11] |
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi | |
---|---|
Born | 1983 (age 40–41) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Occupation | writer |
Education | |
Notable works |
|
Notable awards |
|
Website | |
azareenvandervlietoloomi |
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi (born 1983 in Los Angeles) is an Iranian-American writer. She won the 2015 Whiting Award for Fiction and the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.
Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi was born in 1983, [1] in Los Angeles, [2] to an Iranian mother and British father. [3] She spent much of her childhood in Iran and Spain but also lived in the United States, Scotland, and the United Arab Emirates. [2] She studied Latin American studies and creative writing at the University of California, San Diego, then completed her Master of Fine Arts in fiction at Brown University. [4] She speaks four languages. [2]
In 2012, Van der Vliet Oloomi published her first novel, Fra Keeler.
In 2015, she was honored as one of the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 [5] and won the Whiting Award for Fiction. [6]
Her second book, the unconventional bildungsroman Call Me Zebra, [7] won the 2019 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction. [5] According to the judges, the novel "is a library within a library, a Borges-esque labyrinth of references from all cultures and all walks of life". [6] Call Me Zebra also received the John Gardner Award and was longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award. [5]
Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, Granta, Guernica, Bomb, Los Angeles Review of Books [5] and The New York Times, among others. [4] It has been translated into Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Japanese, and Romanian. [8]
In addition to writing, Van der Vliet Oloomi is an associate professor of English at University of Notre Dame. [2] [3] She also founded "Literatures of Annihilation, Exile & Resistance, a lecture series sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies and the College of Arts and Letters at the University of Notre Dame that brings together Middle Eastern/Southwest Asian and North African writers and artists." [5]
Van der Vliet Oloomi has received fellowships through the Fulbright Program, MacDowell, and Art Omi. [5] [8]
In 2015, the National Book Foundation selected Van der Vliet Oloomi for their annual "5 Under 35" honor. [5] [9]
Over twenty publications named Call Me Zebra one of the best books of 2019. [5]
Her short story "It Is What It Is" was included in The Best American Short Stories 2023.
Year | Title | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2019 | Call Me Zebra | PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction | Winner | [5] [6] [10] |
PEN/Open Book Award | Longlist | [5] | ||
2015 | Whiting Award for Fiction | Winner | [11] |