Brandon Taylor (writer) explained

Brandon Taylor
Birth Date:1 June 1989
Birth Place:Prattville, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation:Writer
Notable Works:
  • Real Life (2020)
  • Filthy Animals (2021)
Period:2020–present
Awards:The Story Prize (2022)

Brandon Taylor (born June 1, 1989) is an American writer. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Iowa and has received several fellowships for his writing. His short stories and essays have been published in many outlets and have received critical acclaim. His debut novel, Real Life, came out in 2020 and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. In 2022, Taylor's Filthy Animals won The Story Prize awarded annually to collections of short fiction.[1]

Early life and education

Taylor was born on June 1, 1989, in Prattville, Alabama,[2] [3] and grew up in a small community outside Montgomery.[4] Part of Taylor's upbringing was spent in a very religious, conservative Baptist setting.[5] Taylor's family is mostly illiterate, and he was often made to read his parents' medical bills and government forms. He taught himself how to read using his brother's textbooks, and grew up reading a combination of romance novels, his aunt's nursing-home manuals, and the Bible.[6] [7]

Taylor attended Auburn University at Montgomery for his undergraduate studies,[8] and then joined a graduate biochemistry program, and after leaving in 2016 began a career in creative writing.[9] He earned graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Iowa, where he was an Iowa Arts Fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[10]

Career

Taylor's short stories and essays have appeared in Granta, Guernica, American Short Fiction, Gulf Coast, Buzzfeed Reader, O: The Oprah Magazine, Gay, The New Yorker, The Literary Review, and elsewhere.[11] He is the senior editor of Electric Literatures "Recommended Reading" and is a staff writer at Literary Hub.[12] He has also contributed book reviews to The New York Times and 4Columns,[13] having reviewed works by authors such as Sally Rooney, Emma Cline, and Banana Yoshimoto.[14] [15] [16]

In an interview for the Booker Prizes, Taylor said his influences were Mavis Gallant, André Aciman, Jane Austen, Alice Munro, Louise Glück, Elizabeth Bishop, Hilton Als, Pat Conroy and Ann Petry.[17]

He received a fellowship from the Lambda Literary Foundation in 2017.[18] He has also received fellowships for his writing from Kimbilio Fiction and the Tin House Summer Writer's Workshop.[19]

His debut novel, Real Life, was published in 2020 with Riverhead Books. In 2021, a collection of his stories, Filthy Animals, was also published by Riverhead.[20]

Real Life

Taylor wrote his debut novel, Real Life, in less than five weeks, and he later explained his approach: "I was like, I'm going to sit down and knock this out so I can get on with my life.... Writing a novel ruins your life in really specific ways. Because you have to live inside of it. It's just this sustained exercise in being miserable."[21] It is "a campus novel imagined from the vantage of a character who is usually shunted to the sidelines ... a gay black student from a small town in Alabama".

Published in 2020 by Riverhead Books, Real Life received critical acclaim.[22] Describing Taylor's work in the Los Angeles Times, Bethanne Patrick wrote: "His voice might best be described as a controlled roar of rage and pain, its energy held together by the careful thinking of a mind accustomed to good behavior."[23] According to the review of Real Life by Jeremy O. Harris in The New York Times, "It is a curious novel to describe, for much of the plot involves excavating the profound from the mundane. As in the modernist novels of Woolf and Tolstoy cited in passing throughout, the true action of Taylor's novel exists beneath the surface, buried in subterranean spaces."[24] Michael Arceneaux wrote in Time: "Taylor's book isn't about overcoming trauma or the perils of academia or even just the experience of inhabiting a black body in a white space, even as Real Life does cover these subjects. Taylor is also tackling loneliness, desire and — more than anything — finding purpose, meaning and happiness in one's own life... How fortunate we are for Real Life, another stunning contribution from a community long deserving of the chance to tell its stories." Taylor himself has said: "I hope that it's a novel that challenges people to think about the ways that we fit together in our relationships with one another. I hope it makes people think really deeply about both the ways that they are harmed, and that they do harm to others."[25]

Taylor's book tour to publicize his novel was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions on travel and public gatherings.[26] Real Life was shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize.[27] The New York Times included the novel on its list of "100 Notable Books of 2020".[28]

In 2021, GQ reported that Real Life was being adapted into a movie featuring Kid Cudi.

Filthy Animals

Taylor's collection of short stories, Filthy Animals, was awarded The Story Prize in 2022.[29] In the Los Angeles Review of Books, Thomas Mar Wee wrote in praise of the book: "Neither cold nor detached, these stories are suffused with a warmth and humanity that recalled for me the uncanniness of Raymond Carver, the empathy of Alice Munro, and the meticulous irony of Chekhov."[30]

The Late Americans

See main article: The Late Americans. Taylor's second novel, The Late Americans, was published in 2023. It follows a group of writers in Iowa City, where he lived while getting an MFA at the Iowa Writers' Workshop.[31] While critical responses to the novel were mostly positive, the reception was more mixed compared to his two previous works.[32]

Upcoming projects

A June 2023 article published in The Guardian reported that Taylor was working on novels entitled Group Show and Other Years, as well as a Southern Gothic project called Kinfolks. He stated in the article that he had found the process of writing Kinfolks particularly daunting, as it represented his first fictional foray into the rural environments of his youth.[33]

On July 10, 2024, Publishers Weekly reported that Taylor is slated to publish two non-fiction books through Graywolf Press: one, a collection of literary criticism, due in fall 2026; the other, a book on the craft of writing, due in fall 2027.[34] On the same day, Publishers Weekly also reported that Unnamed Press, an independent publisher for which Taylor serves as an acquiring editor, had formed the imprint Smith & Taylor Classics, which will be dedicated to publishing lesser-known works by acclaimed authors. Taylor and fellow Unnamed Press editor Allison Miriam Woodnutt (née Smith) are the imprint's namesakes.[35]

Personal life

, Taylor lives in New York City.[36] He identifies as queer.

From 2021 to 2023, Taylor read all 20 novels in Émile Zola's Les Rougon-Macquart cycle after being commissioned to write a piece on the series for the London Review of Books. In the ensuing article, Taylor acknowledged how he deeply identified with the depiction of alcohol dependence portrayed in the novel L'Assommoir, likening it to the behavior he observed in his parents as a child. In the piece, he wrote:

Awards

Literary Awards for Taylor's Writing! Year!Work! Award! Category! Result! Ref
2020Real LifeBooker Prize—[37] [38]
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize—[39]
Foyles Books of the YearFiction
Goodreads Choice AwardsFiction
National Book Critics Circle AwardJohn Leonard Prize[40]
2021ALA Over the Rainbow Book ListFiction and Poetry
Aspen Words Literary Prize—
Lambda Literary AwardGay Fiction
Edmund White Award—
Society of Midland Authors AwardAdult Fiction
Young Lions Fiction Award—[41]
Filthy AnimalsThe Story Prize—[42]
2022Dylan Thomas Prize—[43]
2023The Late AmericansAudioFile's Best Audiobooks of the Year Fiction

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Brand Taylor wins Story Prize for 'Filthy Animals'. EuroNews. Tim. Gallagher. April 14, 2022. April 15, 2022. April 15, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220415091109/https://www.euronews.com/culture/2022/04/14/brand-taylor-wins-story-prize-for-filthy-animals. live.
  2. Web site: Brandon Taylor: campus racism inspired Booker-shortlisted 'Real Life'. Matthew. Reisz. THE. September 15, 2020. July 9, 2021. July 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709210750/https://www.timeshighereducation.com/people/brandon-taylor-campus-racism-inspired-booker-shortlisted-real-life. live.
  3. Web site: Author Brandon Taylor on His Next Books and First Film Adaptation. Cody. Delistraty. Cody Delistraty. February 14, 2021. July 9, 2021. July 9, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210709210751/https://delistraty.com/2021/02/14/author-brandon-taylor-on-his-next-books-and-first-film-adaptation/. live.
  4. Web site: Brandon Taylor On His New Story Collection, 'Filthy Animals'. Scott. Simon. June 19, 2021. June 24, 2021. NPR.org. en. June 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210623164810/https://www.npr.org/2021/06/19/1008304486/brandon-taylor-on-his-new-story-collection-filthy-animals. live.
  5. Web site: Brandon Taylor On His New Novel, Fashion's Role in His Fiction, and Working with Kid Cudi. Mitchell. Kuga. June 23, 2021. June 24, 2021. GQ. en-US. June 23, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210623201911/https://www.gq.com/story/brandon-taylor-filthy-animals-interview. live.
  6. Web site: Sisley . Dominique . 2021-07-09 . Brandon Taylor Doesn't Want to Write About Race and Trauma Anymore . 2023-10-19 . AnOther Magazine . en . January 9, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240109143711/https://www.anothermag.com/design-living/13435/brandon-taylor-author-interview-filthy-animals-book-review-2021 . live .
  7. News: Cummins . Anthony . 2021-06-12 . Brandon Taylor: 'I grew up reading my aunt's nursing-home manuals and bodice-rippers' . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-10-19 . 0261-3077 . August 25, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230825100006/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/jun/12/brandon-taylor-i-grew-up-reading-my-aunts-nursing-home-manuals-and-bodice-rippers . live .
  8. News: For a Scientist Turned Novelist, An Experiment Pays Off . . June 30, 2020 . February 10, 2020 . MJ . Franklin . July 25, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200725070631/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/10/books/brandon-taylor-real-life.html . live .
  9. News: Science Is For Everyone. Until It's Not . April 9, 2020 . . Maddie . Sofia . July 14, 2020 . July 14, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200714100712/https://www.npr.org/2020/04/01/825409532/science-is-for-everyone-until-its-not . live .
  10. Web site: Brandon Taylor The Booker Prizes. July 29, 2022. thebookerprizes.com. July 29, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220729065904/https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/authors/brandon-taylor. live.
  11. Web site: Brandon Taylor, Reluctant Novelist: When a Short Story Writer Goes Long. LitHub. Brandon. Taylor. February 18, 2020. July 19, 2020. June 1, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200601234552/https://lithub.com/brandon-taylor-reluctant-novelist/. live.
  12. Web site: Knutson . Käri . November 19, 2020 . UW alumnus Brandon Taylor one of six finalists for prestigious Booker Prize . June 24, 2021 . news.wisc.edu . en-US . June 24, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212253/https://news.wisc.edu/uw-alumnus-brandon-taylor-one-of-six-finalists-for-prestigious-booker-prize/ . live .
  13. Web site: Taylor . Brandon . The Unfolding . September 9, 2022 . 2023-10-19 . 4columns.org . March 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230309203841/https://4columns.org/taylor-brandon/the-unfolding . live .
  14. News: Taylor . Brandon . 2021-09-07 . Sally Rooney's Novel of Letters Puts a Fresh Spin on Familiar Questions . The New York Times . 2023-10-19 . 0362-4331 . September 8, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210908193836/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/07/books/review/beautiful-world-where-are-you-sally-rooney.html . live .
  15. News: Taylor . Brandon . 2020-09-01 . Emma Cline Knows First World Problems . The New York Times . 2023-10-19 . 0362-4331 . January 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240123110323/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/01/books/review/emma-cline-daddy.html . live .
  16. News: Taylor . Brandon . 2022-07-30 . Banana Yoshimoto Wants You to Feel Again . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-10-19 . 0362-4331 . August 15, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230815170521/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/30/books/review/banana-yoshimoto-dead-end-memories.html . live .
  17. Web site: Brandon Taylor Q&A: Real Life author Brandon Taylor talks about his Booker Prize longlist nomination The Booker Prizes. May 1, 2022. June 24, 2021. thebookerprizes.com. June 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624210157/https://thebookerprizes.com/booker-prize/news/interview-longlisted-author-brandon-taylor. live.
  18. Web site: Brandon Taylor. June 24, 2021. Lambda Literary. en. June 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205908/https://www.lambdaliterary.org/faculty_and_fellows/brandon-taylor-2/. live.
  19. Web site: Nebbe. Charity. Charity Nebbe. March 4, 2020. Brandon Taylor's Debut Novel 'Real Life'. July 19, 2020. Talk of Iowa. Iowa Public Radio. July 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200719223806/https://www.iowapublicradio.org/show/talk-of-iowa/2020-03-04/brandon-taylors-debut-novel-real-life. live.
  20. News: Brandon Taylor's Filthy Animals Is a Study in Rogue Appetites . John Paul . Brammar . . August 31, 2021 . June 21, 2021 . August 31, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210831223535/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/books/review/brandon-taylor-filthy-animals.html . live .
  21. Brandon . Taylor . André Wheeler . 'I didn't write this book for the white gaze': black queer author Brandon Taylor on his debut novel . . March 5, 2020 . December 19, 2020 . June 30, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200630162538/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/mar/05/brandon-taylor-author-real-life-interview . live .
  22. News: Page Turner: Real Life Is a New Kind of Campus Novel . . June 29, 2020 . Eren . Orbey . February 19, 2020 . July 3, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200703035311/https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/real-life-is-a-new-kind-of-campus-novel . live .
  23. News: Review: Waiting for wounds to heal and 'Real Life' to begin – Brandon Taylor’s debut novel echoes James Baldwin. Bethanne. Patrick. Los Angeles Times. March 3, 2020. July 19, 2020. June 4, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200604052948/https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2020-03-11/brandon-taylor-real-life-review. live.
  24. News: Brandon Taylor 'Subjugates Us With the Deft Hand of a Dom'. Jeremy O.. Harris. Jeremy O. Harris. The New York Times. February 18, 2020. July 19, 2020. June 29, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200629012501/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/books/review/brandon-taylor-real-life.html. live.
  25. Web site: Brandon Taylor reads from novel Real Life at Prairie Lights. Megan. Conroy. The Daily Iowan. February 19, 2020. July 19, 2020. July 19, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200719142145/https://dailyiowan.com/2020/02/19/brandon-taylors-novel-real-life-debutes-at-prairie-lights/. live.
  26. Michael Londres . This was not the publication year Brandon Taylor expected . . June 3, 2020 . December 19, 2020 . Brandon . Taylor . December 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202163417/https://www.interviewmagazine.com/culture/brandon-taylor-real-life . live .
  27. News: Flood . Alison . August 6, 2020 . Two friends, both up for the Booker prize: 'We are exploring what it means to feel alien' . December 18, 2020 . . January 3, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210103035209/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/06/two-friends-both-up-for-the-booker-prize-we-are-exploring-what-it-means-to-feel-alien . live .
  28. News: The New York Times . December 19, 2020 . 100 Notable Books of 2020 . November 20, 2020 . September 9, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230909163001/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/books/notable-books.html . live .
  29. Web site: Brandon Taylor's 'Filthy Animals' Wins 2022 Story Prize. Sophia. Stewart. PW. April 13, 2022. September 20, 2022. September 20, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220920213828/https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/awards-and-prizes/article/89049-brandon-taylor-s-filthy-animals-wins-2022-story-prize.html. live.
  30. Web site: Nuanced Portraits: On Brandon Taylor's 'Filthy Animals'. LA Review of Books. September 10, 2021. Thomas. Mar Wee. September 20, 2022. September 20, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220920213827/https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/nuanced-portraits-on-brandon-taylors-filthy-animals/. live.
  31. Web site: Levin . Ann . Book Review: Brandon Taylor is back with a new campus novel, 'The Late Americans' . AP News . May 22, 2023 . May 26, 2023 . May 26, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230526181526/https://apnews.com/article/late-americans-brandon-taylor-book-review-51c7771d8413117b3e7e27cfca05e16f . live .
  32. Web site: All Book Marks reviews for The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor . 2023-10-19 . Book Marks . en-US . May 2, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230502143005/https://bookmarks.reviews/bookmark-all/ . live .
  33. News: Needham . Alex . 2023-06-03 . Brandon Taylor: 'Writing is the most fun I'm capable of having' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20231020003904/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/03/brandon-taylor-writing-is-the-most-fun-im-capable-of-having . October 20, 2023 . 2023-10-20 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  34. Web site: Maher . John . July 10, 2024 . Graywolf Acquires Two Nonfiction Books by Brandon Taylor . 2024-07-10 . . en . 0000-0019.
  35. Web site: Beeck . Nathalie op de . July 10, 2024 . Unnamed Press Inaugurates Smith & Taylor Classics Imprint . 2024-07-10 . . en . 0000-0019.
  36. Web site: Moody . Chris . July 7, 2022 . Brandon Taylor on His Southern Roots and the Joys of Analog . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173847/https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts_culture/books/brandon-taylor-on-his-southern-roots-and-the-joys-of-analog/article_f0293d30-fc74-11ec-8bc8-372575d9f93c.html . September 20, 2022 . September 20, 2022 . nashvillescene.com . The Nashville Scene.
  37. News: Flood . Alison . August 6, 2020 . Two friends, both up for the Booker prize: 'We are exploring what it means to feel alien' . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210103035209/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/aug/06/two-friends-both-up-for-the-booker-prize-we-are-exploring-what-it-means-to-feel-alien . January 3, 2021 . December 18, 2020 . The Guardian.
  38. Web site: September 15, 2020 . Booker Prize 2020: Four debuts make shortlist as Hilary Mantel misses out . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20221023183829/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-54158215 . Oct 23, 2022 . BBC News.
  39. Web site: 2020 First Novel Prize: The Long List . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210227071852/https://centerforfiction.org/book-recs/2020-first-novel-prize-the-long-list/ . February 27, 2021 . June 24, 2021 . The Center for Fiction . en-US.
  40. Web site: The National Book Critics Circle Awards: 2020 Winners & Finalists . 2024-09-18 . National Book Critics Circle . en-US.
  41. Web site: April 9, 2021 . The New York Public Library Announces the Finalists for the 2021 Young Lions Fiction Award . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205827/https://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/april-9-2021/new-york-public-library-announces-finalists-2021-young-lions . June 24, 2021 . June 24, 2021 . The New York Public Library.
  42. Web site: April 14, 2022 . Brandon Taylor's 'Filthy Animals' wins $20,000 Story Prize . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220414103754/https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/brandon-taylors-filthy-animals-wins-20000-story-prize-84072302 . April 14, 2022 . April 14, 2022 . ABC News . en-US . Associated Press.
  43. Web site: 2022-03-31 . Here is the shortlist for the 2022 Dylan Thomas Prize. . Walker. Caplan. 2024-09-18 . Literary Hub . en-US.

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