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George Saunders is an American author born in 1958. Saunders has written everything from novellas to essays and children’s books. Fans of the author will also speak fondly of his contributions to the likes of the New Yorker and American Psyche, not to mention GQ.
Order of George Saunders Standalone Novels
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip (Short Story) | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Lincoln in the Bardo | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
4 | A Swim in a Pond in the Rain | 2021 | Description / Buy |
Order of George Saunders Short Stories/Novellas
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Red Bow | 2003 | ||
2 | CommComm | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
3 | Fox 8 | 2013 | Description / Buy |
Order of George Saunders Short Story Collections
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | CivilWarLand in Bad Decline | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Pastoralia | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
3 | In Persuasion Nation | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Home | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
5 | Tenth of December | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
6 | Liberation Day: Stories | 2022 | Description / Buy |
Order of George Saunders Non-Fiction Books
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Braindead Megaphone | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Congratulations, By the Way | 2014 | Description / Buy |
Order of Best American Short Stories Series
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Best Short Stories of 1915 | 1916 | Description / Buy | |
2 | The Best Short Stories of 1916 | 1916 | Description / Buy | |
3 | The Best Short Stories of 1917 | 1917 | Description / Buy | |
4 | The Best Short Stories of 1918 | 1918 | Description / Buy | |
5 | The Best Short Stories of 1919 | 1919 | Description / Buy | |
6 | The Best Short Stories of 1921 | 1921 | Description / Buy | |
7 | The Best Short Stories of 1922 | 1922 | ||
8 | The Best Short Stories of 1923 | 1923 | ||
9 | The Best Short Stories 1924 | 1924 | Description / Buy | |
10 | The Best Short Stories of 1925 | 1925 | Description / Buy | |
11 | The Best Short Stories 1926 | 1926 | Description / Buy | |
12 | The Best Short Stories 1927 | 1927 | Description / Buy | |
13 | The Best Short Stories of 1928 | 1928 | Description / Buy | |
14 | The Best Short Stories of 1929 | 1929 | Description / Buy | |
15 | The Best Short Stories 1930 | 1930 | Description / Buy | |
16 | The Best Short Stories 1931 | 1931 | Description / Buy | |
17 | The Best Short Stories of 1932 | 1932 | Description / Buy | |
18 | The Best Short Stories 1933 | 1933 | Description / Buy | |
19 | The Best Short Stories 1934 | 1934 | Description / Buy | |
20 | The Best Short Stories 1935 | 1935 | Description / Buy | |
21 | The Best Short Stories 1936 | 1936 | Description / Buy | |
22 | The Best Short Stories 1937 | 1937 | Description / Buy | |
23 | The Best Short Stories of 1938 | 1938 | Description / Buy | |
24 | 50 Best American Short Stories, 1915-1939 | 1939 | Description / Buy | |
25 | The Best Short Stories 1939 | 1939 | ||
26 | The Best Short Stories of 1940 | 1940 | Description / Buy | |
27 | The Best Short Stories 1941 | 1941 | Description / Buy | |
28 | The Best American Short Stories 1942 | 1942 | Description / Buy | |
29 | The Best American Short Stories 1943 | 1943 | Description / Buy | |
30 | The Best American Short Stories 1944 | 1944 | Description / Buy | |
31 | The Best American Short Stories 1945 | 1945 | Description / Buy | |
32 | The Best American Short Stories 1946 | 1946 | Description / Buy | |
33 | The Best American Short Stories 1947 | 1947 | Description / Buy | |
34 | The Best American Short Stories 1948 | 1948 | Description / Buy | |
35 | The Best American Short Stories 1949 | 1949 | Description / Buy | |
36 | The Best American Short Stories 1950 | 1950 | Description / Buy | |
37 | The Best American Short Stories 1951 | 1951 | Description / Buy | |
38 | The Best American Short Stories 1952 | 1952 | Description / Buy | |
39 | The Best American Short Stories 1953 | 1953 | Description / Buy | |
40 | The Best American Short Stories 1955 | 1955 | Description / Buy | |
41 | The Best American Short Stories 1956 | 1956 | Description / Buy | |
42 | The Best American Short Stories 1957 | 1957 | Description / Buy | |
43 | The Best American Short Stories 1958 | 1958 | Description / Buy | |
44 | The Best American Short Stories 1959 | 1959 | Description / Buy | |
45 | The Best American Short Stories 1960 | 1960 | Description / Buy | |
46 | The Best American Short Stories 1961 | 1961 | Description / Buy | |
47 | The Best American Short Stories 1962 | 1962 | Description / Buy | |
48 | The Best American Short Stories 1963 | 1963 | Description / Buy | |
49 | The Best American Short Stories 1964 | 1964 | Description / Buy | |
50 | The Best American Short Stories 1965 | 1965 | Description / Buy | |
51 | The Best American Short Stories 1966 | 1966 | Description / Buy | |
52 | The Best American Short Stories 1967 | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
53 | The Best American Short Stories 1968 | 1967 | Description / Buy | |
54 | The Best American Short Stories of 1969 | 1969 | Description / Buy | |
55 | The Best American Short Stories 1970 | 1970 | Description / Buy | |
56 | The Best American Short Stories 1971 | 1971 | Description / Buy | |
57 | The Best American Short Stories 1972 | 1972 | Description / Buy | |
58 | The Best American Short Stories 1973 | 1973 | Description / Buy | |
59 | The Best American Short Stories 1974 | 1974 | Description / Buy | |
60 | The Best of Best American Short Stories 1915-1950 | 1975 | Description / Buy | |
61 | The Best American Short Stories 1975 | 1975 | Description / Buy | |
62 | The Best American Short Stories 1976 | 1976 | Description / Buy | |
63 | The Best American Short Stories 1977 | 1977 | Description / Buy | |
64 | The Best American Short Stories 1978 | 1978 | Description / Buy | |
65 | The Best American Short Stories 1979 | 1979 | Description / Buy | |
66 | The Best American Short Stories 1980 | 1980 | Description / Buy | |
67 | The Best American Short Stories 1981 | 1981 | Description / Buy | |
68 | The Best American Short Stories 1982 | 1982 | Description / Buy | |
69 | The Best American Short Stories 1983 | 1983 | Description / Buy | |
70 | The Best American Short Stories 1984 | 1984 | Description / Buy | |
71 | The Best American Short Stories 1985 | 1985 | Description / Buy | |
72 | The Best American Short Stories 1986 | 1986 | Description / Buy | |
73 | The Best American Short Stories 1987 | 1987 | Description / Buy | |
74 | The Best American Short Stories 1988 | 1988 | Description / Buy | |
75 | The Best American Short Stories 1989 | 1989 | Description / Buy | |
76 | The Best American Short Stories of the Eighties | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
77 | The Best American Short Stories 1990 | 1990 | Description / Buy | |
78 | The Best American Short Stories 1991 | 1991 | Description / Buy | |
79 | The Best American Short Stories 1992 | 1992 | Description / Buy | |
80 | The Best American Short Stories 1993 | 1993 | Description / Buy | |
81 | The Best American Short Stories 1994 | 1994 | Description / Buy | |
82 | The Best American Short Stories 1995 | 1995 | Description / Buy | |
83 | The Best American Short Stories 1996 | 1996 | Description / Buy | |
84 | The Best American Short Stories 1997 | 1997 | Description / Buy | |
85 | The Best American Short Stories 1998 | 1998 | Description / Buy | |
86 | The Best American Short Stories 1999 | 1999 | Description / Buy | |
87 | The Best American Short Stories 2000 | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
88 | The Best American Short Stories of the Century | 2000 | Description / Buy | |
89 | The Best American Short Stories 2001 | 2001 | Description / Buy | |
90 | The Best American Short Stories 2002 | 2002 | Description / Buy | |
91 | The Best American Short Stories 2003 | 2003 | Description / Buy | |
92 | The Best American Short Stories 2004 | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
93 | The Best American Short Stories 2005 | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
94 | The Best American Short Stories 2006 | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
95 | The Best American Short Stories 2007 | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
96 | The Best Short Stories of 1921, and the Yearbook of the American Short Story | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
97 | The Best American Short Stories 1921 | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
98 | The Best American Short Stories 2008 | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
99 | The Best American Short Stories 2009 | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
100 | The Best American Short Stories 2010 | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
101 | The Best American Short Stories 2011 | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
102 | The Best American Short Stories 2012 | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
103 | The Best American Short Stories 2013 | 2013 | Description / Buy | |
104 | The Best American Short Stories 2014 | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
105 | The Best American Short Stories 2015 | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
106 | 100 Years of The Best American Short Stories | 2015 | Description / Buy | |
107 | The Best American Short Stories 2016 | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
108 | The Best American Short Stories 2017 | 2017 | Description / Buy | |
109 | The Best American Short Stories 2018 | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
110 | The Best American Short Stories 2019 | 2019 | Description / Buy | |
111 | The Best American Short Stories 2020 | 2020 | Description / Buy | |
112 | The Best American Short Stories 2022 | 2022 | Description / Buy |
George Saunders Anthologies
# | Read | Title | Published | Details |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Seventeenth Annual Collection | 2004 | Description / Buy | |
2 | Feeling Very Strange | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
3 | The Secret History of Science Fiction | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
4 | Growing Up Chicago | 2022 | Description / Buy |
Born in Amarillo, Texas, Saunders graduated from Oak Forest High School in Illinois. Eventually going on to receive a degree in Geophysical engineering and an M.A in creative writing, Saunders has made effective use of his scientific background as an author, crafting stories that utilize his knowledge and experience.
Before delving into fiction, George Saunders first worked as a technical writer for an environmental engineering company in Rochester, New York. He also filled the position of geophysical engineer for the company.
Oil exploration took him to Sumatra for a time before he settled at Syracuse University where he has taught creative writing for a great many years.
The author’s brand of fiction isn’t for everyone. Saunders loves writing about consumerism and corporate culture. The mass media is also a favorite topic of his. While he has been known to take a satirical approach to his work, Saunders also endeavors to raise moral and ethical questions that force his readers to think.
People who know Saunders will connect him to objectivism, neo-conservatism and even Nyingma Buddhism. The author is always reinventing himself and rethinking his belief systems.
George Saunders Awards
George Saunders won his first notable award in 1994. That was the National Magazine Award and he won it for one of his short stories. He went on to win another notable award called the O. Henry Award in 1997.
He would then go on to win the National Magazine Award a few more times, this along with taking home a few other accolades such as the Macarthur fellowship, the Short story Prize in 2013 and the Guggenheim fellowship to mention but a few.
George Saunders Books into Movies
Back in the 1990s, the film rights to one of George Saunders’ Works, a book called ‘CivialWarLand in Bad Decline’, were bought by Ben Stiller. The project has been in development with Red Hour productions since then, with very little notable movement.
Best George Saunders Books
Saunders is definitely not what you would call a mainstream author, though his work has a decent following, with some of his best books including the following:
Lincoln in the Bardo: Willie Lincoln was buried on the 2nd of February, 1862. Abraham Lincoln chose that night to visit his son’s body, which had been laid to rest in a Georgetown Cemetery. Overcome with grief, Lincoln came under cover of darkness to spend some time with his son.
This story takes place over one night and it explores aspects of death and grief, not to mention good and evil. As beautiful and sad as the book is, it is also laced with humor. Anyone who reads it will admit that Saunders’ approach is a little strange.
The focus of the story is Abraham Lincoln. His 11-year-old dies from typhoid fever and Lincoln visits the crypt to hold his body. Saunders uses the book to paint Lincoln’s grief as vividly as he can.
The narrative is definitely a little confusing. But the confusion fits Saunders’ purpose. Lincoln isn’t in his right mind and the author thrusts readers into his demented existence, so much so that it becomes difficult to separate the illusion from the real world.
In Persuasion Nation: This book is a collection of some of Saunders’ more impressive short stories. They include one about a town that has been overrun by pet-killing hysteria as well as a tale of Eastern European widows adapting to life in the Suburbs of the United States.
Readers who do not know how funny George Saunders can be need to read this book. A story like ‘I Can Speak’ definitely allows his humor to shine. Of course, the book isn’t all fun and games. Some of the stories in this book are very chilling.
But that is what makes it so interesting. The stories keep shifting in tone, and that makes the reading experience refreshing. There are definitely some sections that are a chore to read.
But when you start looking past the words to the hidden allegories, even the tiresome sections begin to take an interesting turn. Though, considering the approach Saunders takes in some stories, it is understandable why this book might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
When Does The Next George Saunders book come out?
George Saunders doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Liberation Day: Stories and was released on October, 18th 2022. It is the newest book in the George Saunders Short Story Collections.