David
Vann ...

David Vann’s debut work of fiction, Legend of a Suicide, is an exceptional book that is difficult to define, but it won the 2007 Grace Paley Prize in Short Fiction in the US where Vann currently works as an Assistant Professor of English. Now at the University of San Francisco, he was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University and has written for various magazines including Writer’s Digest. Vann is also known for his remarkable memoir, A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea (2005), described as ‘far more than a tale of ruin at sea. It’s also a story of desire and shame, of the struggle to escape our histories and know our dreams... You have to read this book, even if you care nothing about sailing or the sea. Just read it’.

Watch Vann reading from his work or read an interview on his life and career.

Vann’s novel Legend of a Suicide was in the running for our inaugural Readers’ First Book Award in 2010. Each year, every one of the debut novels, novellas and short story collections appearing in our adult programme is entered into our Readers’ First Book Award, and the winner is chosen by the public. Details are announced when the programme is launched in June.