George Saunders (born December 2, 1958) is an acclaimed American writer of short stories. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker and Harper's. He won the National Magazine Award for fiction in 1994, 1996, 2000, and 2004 and second prize in the O. Henry Awards in 1997. December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The New Yorkers first cover, which is reprinted most years on the magazines anniversary. ... An issue of Harpers Magazine from 1905 Another issue, from November 2004 Harpers Magazine (or simply Harpers) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, and the arts. ... The National Magazine Award is a prestigious American award that honors excellence in the magazine industry. ... The O. Henry Awards are yearly prizes given to short stories of exceptional merit. ...

Saunders was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. In 1981, he received a B.S. in geophysical engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. In 1988, he obtained an M.A. in creative writing from Syracuse University. Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Bachelor of Science (B.S., B.Sc. ... Guggenheim Hall with the famous M in the background The Colorado School of Mines, located in the town of Golden, was originally founded in 1873 by the Episcopal Church, but in 1874 it was transferred to the Territory of Colorado. ... Downtown Golden, Colorado Golden, Colorado lies at the mouth of Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range. ... A masters degree is an academic degree usually awarded for completion of a postgraduate or graduate course of one to three years in duration. ... Syracuse University (SU) is a private American research university. ...

From 1989 to 1996 he worked for Radian International, an environmental engineering firm in Rochester, New York as a technical writer and geophysical engineer. He has worked in Sumatra with an oil exploration crew. A portion of Rochesters skyline, looking north along the Genesee River from the Ford Street Bridge. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the 3rd largest island of Indonesia after Kalimantan and New Guinea. ...

Since 1997, Saunders has been on the faculty of Syracuse University, teaching creative writing in the school's MFA program.

Saunders's fiction often focuses on the trivial routines of consumerism. While many reviewers are quick to mention the satirical tone in most of Saunders' writing, many of these same works also deal with the moral struggle between good and evil.

His latest book is The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (2005), a novella satirizing totalitarianism and the press, set in a dystopian world of bizarre machines. [1] The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil is short story writer George Saunders’s first full length novel, weighing in at a mere 130 pages. ...

A film version of "CivilWarLand in Bad Decline" is currently in the works with Ben Stiller's production company.

Books

• CivilWarLand in Bad Decline (1996) (short story collection)
• Pastoralia (2000) (short story collection)
• The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (2000) (fable)
• The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil (2005) (novella)
• In Persuasion Nation (2006) (short story collection)

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil is short story writer George Saunders’s first full length novel, weighing in at a mere 130 pages. ...

External links

• Syracuse University webpage
• George Saunder's fan website
• Saunders reads a story on This American Life
• Articles by George Saunders