Matt Bondurant is a contemporary, prize-winning American writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 and author of the books The Third Translation and The Wettest County in the World.

Bondurant was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria, Virginia

Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...

. His family's ancestral home in Franklin County, VA

Franklin County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 47,286 people, 18,963 households, and 13,918 families residing in the county. The population density was 68 people per square mile . There were 22,717 housing units at an average density of 33 per square mile...

 is the setting of his prohibition-era

Prohibition in the United States

Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...

 historical novel

Historical novel

According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...

 The Wettest County in the World, which tells the tale of his grandfather and granduncles as they run a massive moonshining operation in the mountains of southern Virginia

Southern Virginia

Southern Virginia is a regional name used to refer to an area in the U.S. state of Virginia, which includes the North Carolina-bordering counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg and Pittsylvania, and the cities and towns of Danville, Emporia, South Hill...

.

Bondurant was a Walter E. Dakin Fellow at the Sewanee Writer's Conference and a Kingsbury Fellow at Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

. He graduated from James Madison University, where he was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. Bondurant is currently a literature and creative writing professor at the University of Texas at Dallas

University of Texas at Dallas

The University of Texas at Dallas, also referred to as UT Dallas or UTD, is a public research university in the University of Texas System. The main campus is in the heart of the Richardson, Texas, Telecom Corridor, north of downtown Dallas...

.

In 2010, director John Hillcoat

John Hillcoat

John Hillcoat is an Australian screenwriter and film director.Hillcoat was born in Queensland, Australia, and was raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. As a child, his paintings were featured in the Art Gallery of Hamilton. He has repeatedly worked with Nick Cave and also the band Depeche Mode...

 planned to make a film, The Wettest County in the World

The Wettest County in the World

The Wettest County is an upcoming film directed by John Hillcoat due to be released on 20th April 2012 and starring Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy. The Nick Cave screenplay is based on a novel of the same name by Matt Bondurant.- Plot :...

, based on Bondurant's novel and starring Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf

Shia Saide LaBeouf is an American actor who became known among younger audiences for his part in the Disney Channel series Even Stevens and made his film debut in Holes . In 2007, he starred as the leads in Disturbia and Transformers...

 but the project was shut down as a result of financing problems. An indie studio revived the project. Filming is set to begin in late February 2011, with Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy

Edward Thomas "Tom" Hardy is an English actor. He is best known for playing the title character in the 2008 British film Bronson, the character of Eames in Inception, and the villain Praetor Shinzon in Star Trek Nemesis...

, Guy Pearce

Guy Pearce

Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...

, Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman

Gary Leonard Oldman is an English actor, voice actor, filmmaker and musician.A member of the 1980s Brit Pack, Oldman came to prominence via starring roles in British films Meantime , Sid and Nancy and Prick Up Your Ears , with his performance in the latter bringing him his first BAFTA Award...

, Mia Wasikowska

Mia Wasikowska

Mia Wasikowska is an Australian actress. After starting her career in Australian television and film, she first became known to a wider audience following her critically acclaimed work on the HBO television series In Treatment...

 and Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain is an American film and television actress.-Early life:Jessica Chastain was born Jessica Howard in Northern California. She is one of five children. Her mother, Jerri, is a vegan chef, and her stepfather, Michael, is a firefighter. Chastain is also vegan herself. She took her...

added to the cast.

External links

• http://www.mattbondurant.com/