George Saunders
George Saunders
Professor
CONTACT
English
212 Tolley Humanities Building
Email: gwsaunde@syr.edu
Office: 315.443.2173
Social/Academic Links
George Saunders is #1 New York Times bestselling author of twelve books, including Lincoln in the Bardo, which won the 2017 Man Booker Prize for best work of fiction in English and was a finalist for the Golden Man Booker, in which one Booker winner was selected to represent each decade, from the fifty years since the prize’s inception. His most recent book is Liberation Day, a collection of short stories chosen as one of President Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2022. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, a best-selling exploration of the Russian short story, was published in 2020.
Saunders publishes fiction, non-fiction, and humor regularly in The New Yorker. His piece on the early days of the Trump campaign was awarded the 2016 Sigma Delta Chi Award by the Society of Professional Journalists, in the category of “Magazine Writing,
The story collection Tenth of December was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the inaugural Folio Prize in 2013 (for the best work of fiction in English) and the Story Prize (for best short story collection). The audiobook for Lincoln in the Bardo, which featured a cast of 166 actors, was the 2018 Audie Award for best audiobook. He has received MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, and the PEN/Malamud Prize for excellence in the short story. In 2013, he was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine. He has taught in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University since 1996 and holds the rank of full professor.
Fiction, especially the short story
(Oct. 3, 2024)
Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club highlights Saunders’ bestselling work through a monthlong series of articles, interviews and other exclusive content.
(Aug. 2, 2024)
Three of Saunders’ books were named Best Books of the 21st Century and another was featured on Oprah Daily's 'Best Nonfiction' list.
(April 14, 2023)
10 years after his Convocation speech went viral, acclaimed author George Saunders G’88 revisits its message.
(April 12, 2018)
Event will honor more than 50 scholars who published books in 2017
(Oct. 18, 2017)
Saunders awarded one of the world's most distinguished literary awards, for his first novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo”
(Feb. 24, 2017)
Saunders is currently in the midst of an international, multi-city book tour