Early Life and Education
George Saunders was born on December 2, 1958, and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. He attended the Colorado School of Mines, where he earned a degree in geophysical engineering in 1981. After working for a few years in the oil fields of Indonesia, he decided to pursue writing and was accepted into the MFA program at Syracuse University, where he studied under Tobias Wolff. That experience shifted his career trajectory from science to literature, and he has remained closely tied to the Syracuse program ever since.
Literary Career
Saunders made his literary debut with “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline” in 1996. The collection, a mix of darkly comic and dystopian tales, was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award and immediately established him as a distinctive voice in American fiction. He followed it with more collections, including “Pastoralia” (2000), “In Persuasion Nation” (2006), and the critically acclaimed “Tenth of December” (2013), which was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times and won the inaugural Folio Prize. In 2017, Saunders released his first full-length novel, “Lincoln in the Bardo.” A stylistically daring work centered on the death of Abraham Lincoln’s son Willie, the novel earned Saunders the Man Booker Prize and further cemented his literary legacy. In addition to fiction, Saunders is a prolific essayist and contributor to publications such as The New Yorker, GQ, and Harper’s Magazine. His nonfiction collection “The Braindead Megaphone” (2007) tackles culture, politics, and media with the same wit and moral clarity found in his fiction.
Teaching and Influence
Saunders has taught in the Creative Writing Program at Syracuse University since the late 1990s, where he has mentored a generation of celebrated authors. In 2021, he published “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain,” a hybrid craft book and literary analysis based on his Russian literature course, which was praised for its accessible wisdom on storytelling and empathy. His teaching style, like his fiction, emphasizes compassion, curiosity, and attentiveness to the human condition, making him not only an admired writer but also a revered mentor and intellectual presence in the literary world.
Awards and Honors
Throughout his career, Saunders has received numerous accolades, including:
The Man Booker Prize for “Lincoln in the Bardo” A MacArthur Fellowship (often called the “Genius Grant”) in 2006 The Folio Prize for “Tenth of December"Inclusion on Time magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2013
His work is frequently taught in creative writing programs and has influenced a wide array of writers with its blend of formal experimentation and emotional depth.
Personal Life & Real Estate
George Saunders is married to his wife, Paula, also a writer. They have two daughters. Despite his literary fame, Saunders is widely regarded for his humility, kindness, and commitment to ethical storytelling. He continues to write, teach, and advocate for literature as a tool for expanding empathy and understanding. In 2022, George and Paula paid $1.9 million for a townhome in Santa Monica, California.
