Marianne Wiggins
Encyclopedia
Marianne Wiggins is an America
n author
. She is noted for the unusual characters and storylines in her novels. She has won the Whiting Writers' Award
, an NEA
award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize.
. Her family was of Greek
and Scots
ancestry. Her father, a farmer, preached in a conservative Christian church founded by her grandfather. She married at 17, just after graduating from Manheim Township High School and promptly gave birth to a daughter, Lara, whom she raised in Martha’s Vineyard. Lara is now a professional photographer in Los Angeles.
Wiggins lived in London
for 16 years and for brief stints in Paris
, Brussels
and Rome
.
She and Salman Rushdie wed in January 1988. On a book tour in the US, the couple learned on February 14, 1989 that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had ordered Rushdie killed for blasphemy
in the book The Satanic Verses
. As a result, Wiggins went into protective hiding in Great Britain, along with Rushdie. In 1993, the two divorced.
“I have lived a really interesting life,” she told Pamela J. Johnson in July 2006. “I haven’t lived it so I can excavate material for my writing.” She added, “I’m a novelist. I don’t have those muscles. It’s not about me. It’s about what I’ve imagined. It’s the universal voice that I want to move forward. That’s my natural voice.”
She currently lives in Los Angeles, California
, where she has been in the English department of the University of Southern California
since fall, 2005.
Wiggins won a Whiting Writer's Award in 1989. Ten authors annually win this award, currently $40,000, not for a specific work, but for exceptional talent and promise. She was a National Book Award
Finalist in 2003 for Evidence of Things Unseen.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
n author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She is noted for the unusual characters and storylines in her novels. She has won the Whiting Writers' Award
Whiting Writers' Award
The Whiting Writers' Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry and plays. The award is sponsored by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation and has been presented since 1985. As of 2007, winners receive US $50,000.-External links:**...
, an NEA
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
award and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize.
Biography
Wiggins was born in Lancaster, PennsylvaniaLancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...
. Her family was of Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Scots
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
ancestry. Her father, a farmer, preached in a conservative Christian church founded by her grandfather. She married at 17, just after graduating from Manheim Township High School and promptly gave birth to a daughter, Lara, whom she raised in Martha’s Vineyard. Lara is now a professional photographer in Los Angeles.
Wiggins lived in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
for 16 years and for brief stints in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
.
She and Salman Rushdie wed in January 1988. On a book tour in the US, the couple learned on February 14, 1989 that Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini had ordered Rushdie killed for blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
in the book The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses
The Satanic Verses is Salman Rushdie's fourth novel, first published in 1988 and inspired in part by the life of Prophet Muhammad. As with his previous books, Rushdie used magical realism and relied on contemporary events and people to create his characters...
. As a result, Wiggins went into protective hiding in Great Britain, along with Rushdie. In 1993, the two divorced.
“I have lived a really interesting life,” she told Pamela J. Johnson in July 2006. “I haven’t lived it so I can excavate material for my writing.” She added, “I’m a novelist. I don’t have those muscles. It’s not about me. It’s about what I’ve imagined. It’s the universal voice that I want to move forward. That’s my natural voice.”
She currently lives in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, where she has been in the English department of the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
since fall, 2005.
Wiggins won a Whiting Writer's Award in 1989. Ten authors annually win this award, currently $40,000, not for a specific work, but for exceptional talent and promise. She was a National Book Award
National Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
Finalist in 2003 for Evidence of Things Unseen.
Novels
- Babe, 1975, was the story of a single mother.
- Went South, 1980.
- Separate Checks, 1984, a short-story writer recovers from a nervous breakdown.
- After this book was published, Wiggins was able to support herself and her daughter from her novels.
- Herself in Love, 1987.
- John Dollar, 1989, Eight girls, marooned on an island.
- Won the Janet Heidiger Kafka PrizeJanet Heidiger Kafka PrizeThe Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize is annually awarded for fiction by an American woman.The Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women's Studies and the Department of English at the University of Rochester have awarded the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize for fiction by an American woman since...
for best novel written by an American woman.- Eveless Eden, 1995, the romance between a war correspondent and photographer.
- Story suggested by then-husband Salman Rushdie.
- Shortlisted for 1996 Orange Prize.
- Almost Heaven, 1998.
- Evidence of Things Unseen, 2003, the dawn of the atomic age is seen through the eyes of Fos, an amateur chemist in Kitty Hawk, North CarolinaKitty Hawk, North CarolinaKitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,000 at the 2000 census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk....
, and Opal, a glassblower's daughter.
- Nominated for 2003 National Book AwardNational Book AwardThe National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
. - Gold medal for 2004 Commonwealth Club Prize (Fiction).
- Finalist for 2004 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
.- The Shadow Catcher, 2007, dual narrative threading early life of photographer Edward Curtis and current life of "Marianne Wiggins."
External links
- Wired for Books (1990 audio interview with Don SwaimDon SwaimDon Swaim is an American journalist and broadcaster.Born in Kansas, Swaim earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Ohio University and worked as editor, writer, producer, reporter and anchor at WCBS in New York and CBS in Baltimore....
) - Marianne Wiggins And Life on the Run, New York Times, April 9, 1991 (review of Bet They'll Miss Us when We're Gone).