Vanessa Veselka

Vanessa Veselka (born March 14, 1969) is an American writer best known for her 2012 PEN / Robert W. Bingham prize prize-winning debut novel Zazen.[1] Her nonfiction has appeared in Salon,[2] The Atlantic,[3] GQ,[4] Maximum Rock'n'Roll, Bitch Magazine, Smithsonian, The Atavist, and The American Reader.[5][6]

Vanessa Veselka
Vanessa Veselka
Born (1969-03-14) March 14, 1969
Occupationnovelist
NationalityAmerican
Alma materReed College
Notable worksZazen
Notable awardsPEN / Robert W. Bingham prize
Website
vanessaveselka.wordpress.com

In 2013, she was a chosen as a MacDowell Fellow, and her November 2012 GQ piece entitled "The Truck Stop Killer" is part of the 2013 edition of Best American Essays.[7]

Personal life

Veselka's bio says she has been "a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, and a student of paleontology."[8] In the 1990s she played in the bands Bell and The Pinkos and ran a record label.[9] She graduated from Reed College[10] and lives in Portland, Oregon.[11]

Writing

Veselka's novel Zazen was serialized online by Arthur Magazine,[12] then published by Richard Nash's imprint Red Lemonade.[13] The book grew out of a short story published by Tin House in 2010,[14] and was nominated for a Ken Kesey Award for Fiction[15] and awarded the $25,000 PEN/Bingham award "for a debut work of fiction that represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise."[16]

Her nonfiction has dealt with issues of women, violence and the road ("Green Screen," The Truck Stop Killer") as well as rape, mental health ("The Collapsible Woman") and unionization ("the Wake of Protest"). Her fiction frequently involves "Buddhist concerns"[17] and geological themes.[18]

Her new novel, The Great Offshore Grounds[19] was released on August 25, 2020. [20] It was named to the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction longlist.[21]

Bibliography
  • Veselka, Vanessa (2011). Zazen. Red Lemonade. ISBN 978-1935869054.
  • Veselka, Vanessa (2020). The Great Offshore Grounds. Knopf. ISBN 978-0525658078.

References
  1. "WONDERFUL NEWS: Vanessa Veselka's ZAZEN wins her a major prize from PEN". Arthur Magazine. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  2. Veselka, Vanessa. "Where are the Women Kerouacs". Salon. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  3. Veselka, Vanessa. "In the Wake of Protest: One Woman's Attempt to Unionize Amazon". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  4. Veselka, Vanessa. "The Truck Stop Killer". GQ. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  5. Veselka, Vanessa. "GREEN SCREEN: THE LACK OF FEMALE ROAD NARRATIVES AND WHY IT MATTERS". The American Reader. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  6. "Vanessa Veselka". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
  7. "Cheryl Strayed, Brian Doyle, Vanessa Veselka and Kevin Sampsell". Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  8. Kerr, Euan. "Vanessa Veselka's Strange Route to Literary Stardom". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  9. " "Vanessa Veselka. These Streets". Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  10. Barton, Randall. "Reed Magazine: Road Warrior". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  11. Miller, Dave. "Vanessa Veselka's "Zazen"". Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  12. "Starting Monday, Oct. 26, Arthur serializes ZAZEN, a novel by Vanessa Veselka". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  13. "Zazen. Red Lemonade". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  14. Cleland, Lance. "From the Vault: Vanessa Veselka". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  15. Heacock, Kait. "Fiction is a Radical and Private Freedom: Fearless Female Writers". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  16. Baker, Jeff. "Portland Writer Vanessa Veselka Wins $25,000 Pen/Robert Bingham Prize". Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  17. Mowe, Sam. "An interview with Vanessa Veselka". Tricycle. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  18. Mowe, Sam. "The Transience of Identity: The Rumpus Interview with Vanessa Veselka". The Rumpus. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
  19. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/618210/the-great-offshore-grounds-by-vanessa-veselka/
  20. https://bookriot.com/2020/03/09/cover-reveal-the-great-offshore-grounds/
  21. "The Great Offshore Grounds". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
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