Author Photo: Emily Dorio

ANN PATCHETT is the author of ten novels, The Patron Saint of Liars, Taft, The Magician’s Assistant, Bel Canto, Run, State of Wonder, Commonwealth, The Dutch House, Tom Lake, and the forthcoming Whistler. She was a guest editor of Best American Short Stories and has written four books of nonfiction–Truth & Beauty, What now?, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, and These Precious Days. She has collaborated with illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser on three children’s books, Lambslide, Escape Goat, and The Verts. She also released an annotated version of one of her most beloved novels, Bel Canto.

Patchett has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a National Humanities Medal and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Her novel, The Dutch House, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She was named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. She is a frequent contributor for The New Yorker, Harper’s Magazine, and The New York Times. Her books have been both New York Times Notable Books and New York Times bestsellers, and her work has been translated into more than thirty languages.

In November, 2011, she opened Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee. She has since become a spokesperson for independent booksellers, championing books and bookstores on NPR, PBS Newshour, and the TODAY Show. She was the inaugural ambassador for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (BINC), and she founded the Parnassus Books Foundation, which gives books to children in Title I schools in Nashville.

Ann Patchett lives in Nashville with her husband, Karl VanDevender, and their dog, Nemo. She makes weekly appearances on Parnassus’s social media, where her videos have amassed millions of views. On Tuesdays, she joins the Laydown Diaries crew to talk about the week’s new releases, and she can often be found making "new to you" recommendations on Fridays.

Photo credit: The White House

Awards & Distinctions

  • England’s Women’s Prize

  • PEN/Faulkner Award

  • Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters

  • Book Sense Book of the Year

  • Guggenheim Fellowship,

  • Chicago Tribune’s Heartland Prize

  • The Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts,

  • American Bookseller’s Association’s Most Engaging Author Award

  • Women’s National Book Association’s Award

  • Thornton Wilder Prize

  • PEN/Audible Literary Service Award