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Runyon, Damon

(Encyclopedia)Runyon, Damon (Alfred Damon Runyon), 1884–1946, American short story writer and journalist, b. Manhattan, Kans. He is best known for his humorous stories—written in a picturesque, slangy journalis...

Salinger, J. D.

(Encyclopedia)Salinger, J. D. (Jerome David Salinger) sălˈĭnjər [key], 1919–2010, American novelist and short-story writer, b. New York City. His considerable literary stature rests on a small but extremely i...

Mrożek, Sławomir

(Encyclopedia)Mrożek, Sławomir slävôˈmēr mərôˈzhĕk [key], 1930–2013, Polish dramatist and short-story writer. While working as a journalist and cartoonist for a Kraków newspaper, Mrożek began to write...

McInerney, Jay

(Encyclopedia)McInerney, Jay (John Barrett McInerney, Jr.), 1955–, American writer, b. Hartford, Conn. After graduating from Williams College (1976), he studied creative writing with Raymond Carver at Syracuse Un...

Hebel, Johann Peter

(Encyclopedia)Hebel, Johann Peter yōˈhän pāˈtər hāˈbəl [key], 1760–1826, German short-story writer and dialect poet. Editor of Der rheinländische Hausfreund [Rhineland home companion] from 1801 to 1811,...

Gale, Zona

(Encyclopedia)Gale, Zona, 1874–1938, American novelist and short-story writer, b. Portage, Wis., grad. Univ. of Wisconsin, 1895. After five years (1899–1904) of newspaper work in Milwaukee and New York City, sh...

Barrios, Eduardo

(Encyclopedia)Barrios, Eduardo āᵺwärˈᵺō bärˈyōs [key], 1884–1963, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. He was director of libraries and minister of education in Chile. As a writer he w...

Amis, Martin

(Encyclopedia)Amis, Martin āˈmĭs [key], 1949–2023, English novelist; son of Kingsley Amis. The younger Amis, who turned from literary journalism to fiction, invites comparison with...

Berger, John Peter

(Encyclopedia)Berger, John Peter bûrˈjər [key], 1926–2017, British art critic, cultural historian, and writer, b. London. Berger, who began his career as a painter, is best known for his art criticism. He wrot...

Calisher, Hortense

(Encyclopedia)Calisher, Hortense kălˈĭshər [key], 1911–2009, American author, b. New York City, grad. Barnard College, 1932. Her novels are difficult to categorize, blending deft character analysis with compl...