Annie Proulx

Annie Proulx (born August 22, 1935, in Norwich, Connecticut) is an acclaimed American novelist, short story writer, and journalist renowned for her stark, lyrical prose and vivid portraits of rural life. Writing with dark humor and meticulous attention to landscape, she often explores the harsh relationship between people and the places they inhabit. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a journalist and published works on subjects ranging from gardening to history.

Proulx rose to prominence with her first novel, Postcards (1992), which won the PEN/Faulkner Award, making her the first woman to receive it. Her breakthrough came with The Shipping News (1993), a tale of a grieving man rebuilding his life in Newfoundland, which earned both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Accordion Crimes (1996) followed, tracing an immigrant's instrument across a century of American life.

Her short story "Brokeback Mountain," published in The New Yorker in 1997 and collected in Close Range: Wyoming Stories (1999), gained worldwide fame through Ang Lee's 2005 Oscar-winning film adaptation. Later works include That Old Ace in the Hole (2002), the sweeping generational epic Barkskins (2016), and several acclaimed Wyoming story collections. A three-time O. Henry Award winner, Proulx remains one of America's most distinctive literary voices.