Vanessa Veselka Explained

Vanessa Veselka
Birth Date:14 March 1969
Occupation:Novelist
Nationality:American
Notableworks:Zazen, The Great Offshore Grounds
Alma Mater:Reed College

Vanessa Veselka (born March 14, 1969) is an American writer best known for her 2020 novel The Great Offshore Grounds, which won the Oregon Book Award[1] and was longlisted for the U.S. National Book Award.[2] She is also known for her first novel, Zazen.[3]

Her November 2012 GQ piece entitled "The Truck-Stop Killer" was included under the title "Highway of Lost Girls" in the 2013 edition of Best American Essays.[4]

Career

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")("These Memory Care Workers Went on Strike to Save Lives). Her fiction frequently involves "Buddhist concerns"[5] and geological themes.[6]

Veselka's first novel Zazen was serialized online by Arthur Magazine,[7] then published by Richard Nash's imprint Red Lemonade.[8] The book grew out of a short story published by Tin House in 2010,[9] and was nominated for a Ken Kesey Award for Fiction[10] and awarded the $25,000 PEN/Bingham award "for a debut work of fiction that represents distinguished literary achievement and suggests great promise."[11] Zazen was rereleased by Knopf in 2021.[12]

Her second novel, The Great Offshore Grounds[13] was released on August 25, 2020, from Knopf.[14]

Personal life

Veselka's bio says she has been "a teenage runaway, a sex-worker, a union organizer, and a student of paleontology."[15] In the 1990s she played in the bands Bell and The Pinkos and ran a record label.[16] She graduated from Reed College[17] and lives in Portland, Oregon.[18] She is the daughter of broadcaster Linda Ellerbee.[19]

Bibliography

External links and references

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Here are the winners of the 2021 Oregon Book Awards. The Oregonian. May 3, 2021. May 8, 2021.
  2. Web site: Vanessa Veselka, Longlist 2020 National Book Awards. May 8, 2021.
  3. Web site: WONDERFUL NEWS: Vanessa Veselka's ZAZEN wins her a major prize from PEN. Arthur Magazine. August 28, 2012. October 7, 2013.
  4. Web site: Cheryl Strayed, Brian Doyle, Vanessa Veselka and Kevin Sampsell. October 7, 2013.
  5. Web site: Mowe. Sam. An interview with Vanessa Veselka. Tricycle. October 9, 2013.
  6. Web site: Mowe. Sam. The Transience of Identity: The Rumpus Interview with Vanessa Veselka. The Rumpus. September 20, 2011. October 9, 2013.
  7. Web site: Starting Monday, Oct. 26, Arthur serializes ZAZEN, a novel by Vanessa Veselka. October 23, 2009. October 9, 2013.
  8. Web site: Zazen. Red Lemonade. October 9, 2013.
  9. Web site: Cleland. Lance. From the Vault: Vanessa Veselka. October 9, 2013.
  10. News: Heacock. Kait. Fiction is a Radical and Private Freedom: Fearless Female Writers. October 9, 2013.
  11. News: Baker. Jeff. Portland Writer Vanessa Veselka Wins $25,000 Pen/Robert Bingham Prize. October 9, 2013.
  12. News: Rubin. Jay. Portland author's award winning novel rereleased. June 4, 2022.
  13. Web site: The Great Offshore Grounds by Vanessa Veselka: 9781984899576 PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books.
  14. Web site: Cover Reveal: THE GREAT OFFSHORE GROUNDS by Vanessa Veselka. March 9, 2020.
  15. Web site: Kerr. Euan. Vanessa Veselka's Strange Route to Literary Stardom. October 9, 2013.
  16. Web site: Vanessa Veselka. These Streets.. January 22, 2013. October 7, 2013.
  17. Web site: Barton. Randall. Reed Magazine: Road Warrior. October 9, 2013.
  18. Web site: Miller. Dave. Vanessa Veselka's "Zazen". October 7, 2013.
  19. Web site: Vanessa Veselka, "The Great Offshore Grounds," "Zazen," 2021 .

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