Scott Heim
Scott Heim | |
---|---|
Born | Hutchinson, Kansas, U.S. | September 26, 1966
Occupation |
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Nationality | American |
Period | 1995–present |
Genre | Literary Fiction |
Subject | memory, sex, childhood trauma |
Notable works | Mysterious Skin (1995) We Disappear (2008) |
Notable awards | Lambda Literary Award for Fiction, 2009 |
Partner | Michael Lowenthal |
Scott Heim (born September 26, 1966) is an American novelist from Hutchinson, Kansas, currently living in Massachusetts. Heim's first novel, Mysterious Skin, was published in 1995.[1]
Biography
Scott Heim was born in Hutchinson, Kansas,[2] in 1966. He attended the University of Kansas in Lawrence, earning a B.A. in English and Art History in 1989 and an M.A. in English Literature in 1991.[citation needed] He attended the M.F.A. program in Writing at Columbia University, where he wrote stories that evolved into his first novel, Mysterious Skin.[3] HarperCollins published that book in 1996, and Heim followed it with another novel, In Awe, about a makeshift family of Kansas misfits, in 1997. Kirkus Reviews called it a "disappointing follow-up to Mysterious Skin." In Awe, however, won the 1998 Firecracker Alternative Book Award for Fiction.[4]
In 2008, his novel We Disappear was published. Publishers Weekly described it as "Taut and beautifully clear, the writing at times recalls that of Paul Auster," but added "the plot ends in a place less interesting than where it began."[5]
In 2012, Heim began publishing a series of music-related nonfiction collections called "The First Time I Heard" series, for which he serves as editor. In these books, musicians and writers tell their stories of when they first heard an iconic band or artist.[6]
Heim won fellowships to the London Arts Board as their International Writer-in-Residence, and to the Sundance Screenwriters' Lab for his adaptation of Mysterious Skin.[7] He is also the author of a book of poems, Saved From Drowning (1993).
Mysterious Skin was adapted for the stage by playwright Prince Gomolvilas, premiering in San Francisco. It was subsequently adapted into a film of the same name by director Gregg Araki and Antidote Films. The movie starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet, Elisabeth Shue, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Mary Lynn Rajskub.
After living 11 years in New York,[8] Heim relocated to Boston in 2002 with his boyfriend, writer Michael Lowenthal.[9]
Works
Novels
- Mysterious Skin (1996)
- In Awe (1997)
- We Disappear (2008)
Poetry
- Saved From Drowning (1993)
Editor
- The First Time I Heard Joy Division / New Order (2012)
- The First Time I Heard Cocteau Twins (2012)
- The First Time I Heard David Bowie (2012)
- The First Time I Heard The Smiths (2012)
- The First Time I Heard Kate Bush (2012)
- The First Time I Heard My Bloody Valentine (2014)
Contributor
- Discontents, edited by Dennis Cooper (1994)
- Waves: An Anthology of New Gay Fiction, edited by Ethan Mordden (1994)
- In the Nursery, Scatter (text for compilation CD) (1995)
- Best American Gay Fiction (1996)
- Boys Like Us: Gay Writers Tell Their Coming Out Stories, edited by Patrick Merla (1996)
- Personals: Dreams and Nightmares from the Lives of 20 Young Writers, edited by Thomas Beller (1998)
- Best American Gay Fiction 3 (1998)
- Obsessed: A Flesh and the Word Collection of Erotic Memoirs, edited by Michael Lowenthal (1999)
- Circa 2000: Gay Fiction at the Millennium (1999)
- Something Inside: Conversations With Gay Fiction Writers, edited by Philip Gambone (1999)
- The Hot Spots: The Best Erotic Writing in Modern Fiction (2001)
- The Book of Lists: Horror, edited by Amy Wallace, Del Howison, and Scott Bradley (2008)
- Travels in a Gay Nation: Portraits of LGBTQ Americans (2010)
- David Hilliard: Highway of Thought (exhibition catalogue text for photographer David Hilliard) (2010)
- Hood, Recollected (text for 6-disc compilation box set) (2012)
- epic45, May Your Heart Be the Map (liner notes for album reissue) (2017)
Filmography
- Mysterious Skin (novel basis) (2004)
References
- ^ Gambone, Philip; Giard, Robert (1999). Something Inside: Conversations with Gay Fiction Writers. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 301. ISBN 9780299161347. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ "Scott Heim back in Kansas with 'We Disappear'". 27 March 2008.
- ^ "'Mysterious Skin': Film inspired by former KU student's book debuts on screen in Lawrence". 10 October 2005.
- ^ "Firecracker Alternative Book Awards". ReadersRead.com. Archived from the original on Mar 4, 2009.
- ^ "Fiction Book Review: We Disappear by Scott Heim, Author. Harper Perennial $13.95 (293p) ISBN 978-0-06-146897-1".
- ^ "Reader Meet Author: Personal Advice from Author Scott Heim". 28 May 2012.
- ^ "Sundance Institute".
- ^ "LGBT History Month: Scott Heim - English | Colorado State University". 16 October 2017.
- ^ "Scott Heim back in Kansas with 'We Disappear'". 27 March 2008.
External links
- Scott Heim at IMDb