Peter Cameron (US writer)
Encyclopedia
Peter Cameron is an American
novelist and writer
living in New York, NY. He is best known for his novels Andorra
, The Weekend and The City of Your Final Destination.
.
He sold his first short story to The New Yorker
in 1983, and published ten more stories in that magazine during the next few years. This exposure facilitated the publication of his first book, a collection of stories titled One Way or Another, published by Harper & Row in 1986. One Way or Another was awarded a special citation by the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Book of Fiction. In 1988, Cameron was hired by Adam Moss
to write a serial novel for the just-launched magazine, 7 Days. This serial, which was written and published a chapter a week, became Leap Year, a comic novel of life and love in New York City in the twilight of the 1980s. It was published in 1989 by Harper & Row, which also published a second collection of stories, Far-flung, in 1991.
Beginning in 1990, Cameron stopped writing short fiction and turned his attention toward novels. His second novel, The Weekend, was published in 1994 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, which also published a third novel, Andorra, in 1997, and a fourth, The City of Your Final Destination, in May 2002. His work has been translated into a dozen languages.
A film version of The Weekend, written and directed by Brian Skeet and starring Gena Rowlands
and Brooke Shields
, was released in 2000. Ovie Entertainment
has optioned the film rights to Andorra and plans to produce a film with a screenplay written by Cameron; Merchant Ivory Productions
produced a film version of The City of Your Final Destination, directed by James Ivory
from a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
.
Cameron counts among his strongest influences the novels of British women writers such as Rose Macaulay
, Barbara Pym
, Penelope Mortimer
, and Elizabeth Taylor
. He admires these writers for their elegant and accomplished use of language and their penetrating and sensitive exploration of personal life. He also admires the writing of the late William Maxwell
for its natural elegance and deeply felt humanity. Shirley Hazzard
, James Salter
, and Denton Welch
are also revered.
After arriving in New York City in 1982, Cameron worked for a year in the subsidiary rights department of St. Martin’s Press. Upon realizing he did not want to pursue a career in publishing, he began doing administrative work for non-profit organizations. From 1983 to 1988, he worked for the Trust for Public Land
, a land-conservation organization, and from 1990 to 1998 he worked for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
, a legal organization that protects and extends the civil rights
of gay
men, lesbian
s, and people with HIV/AIDS. In 1987 he taught writing at Oberlin College
in Oberlin, Ohio
, and from 1990–1996 he taught in the MFA
program at Columbia University
's Graduate School of the Arts. From 1998 to 2005 he taught in Sarah Lawrence College
’s MFA program. He taught at Yale University
in the fall of 2005.
In March 2005 his first play, A Thing of the Past, was read at Lincoln Center Theater by a cast including Marian Seldes
and Estelle Parsons
. A new novel, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You, was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in September 2007.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and 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....
living in New York, NY. He is best known for his novels Andorra
Andorra (novel)
Andorra is a 1997 novel by American writer Peter Cameron. The story takes place in the small country of Andorra, which is located in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. However, the Andorra of the novel bears little relation to the geography or culture of the real country....
, The Weekend and The City of Your Final Destination.
Biography
Cameron grew up in Pompton Plains, New Jersey, and in London, England. He spent two years attending the progressive American School in London, where he discovered the joys of reading, and began writing stories, poems, and plays. Cameron graduated from Hamilton College in New York State in 1982 with a B.A. in English literatureEnglish literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
.
He sold his first short story to The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
in 1983, and published ten more stories in that magazine during the next few years. This exposure facilitated the publication of his first book, a collection of stories titled One Way or Another, published by Harper & Row in 1986. One Way or Another was awarded a special citation by the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Book of Fiction. In 1988, Cameron was hired by Adam Moss
Adam Moss
Adam Moss is an American magazine and newspaper editor. Since 2004, he has been the editor-in-chief of New York magazine. Under his editorship, New York has repeatedly been recognized for excellence, notably winning five National Magazine Awards in 2007...
to write a serial novel for the just-launched magazine, 7 Days. This serial, which was written and published a chapter a week, became Leap Year, a comic novel of life and love in New York City in the twilight of the 1980s. It was published in 1989 by Harper & Row, which also published a second collection of stories, Far-flung, in 1991.
Beginning in 1990, Cameron stopped writing short fiction and turned his attention toward novels. His second novel, The Weekend, was published in 1994 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux, which also published a third novel, Andorra, in 1997, and a fourth, The City of Your Final Destination, in May 2002. His work has been translated into a dozen languages.
A film version of The Weekend, written and directed by Brian Skeet and starring Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands
Gena Rowlands is an American actress of film, stage and television. The four-time Emmy and two-time Golden Globe winner is best known for her collaborations with her actor-director husband John Cassavetes in ten films, in two of which, Gloria and A Woman Under the Influence, she gave Academy...
and Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
, was released in 2000. Ovie Entertainment
Ovie Entertainment
Ovie Entertainment is an American independent film motion picture production company based in New York City.Founded by Thoma Kikis, Christopher Kikis, Nicholas Levis, Cheesey Botox, and Alan Zelenetz in 2003 to produce independent and commercially viable films and with an obligation to the past...
has optioned the film rights to Andorra and plans to produce a film with a screenplay written by Cameron; Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions
Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory. Their films were for the most part produced by the former, directed by the latter, and scripted by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, with the noted exception of a few films. The films were often...
produced a film version of The City of Your Final Destination, directed by James Ivory
James Ivory (director)
James Francis Ivory is an American film director, best known for the results of his long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, which included both Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala...
from a screenplay written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, CBE is a Booker prize-winning novelist, short story writer, and two-time Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is perhaps best known for her long collaboration with Merchant Ivory Productions, made up of director James Ivory and the late producer Ismail Merchant...
.
Cameron counts among his strongest influences the novels of British women writers such as Rose Macaulay
Rose Macaulay
Dame Emilie Rose Macaulay, DBE was an English writer. She published thirty-five books, mostly novels but also biographies and travel writing....
, Barbara Pym
Barbara Pym
Barbara Mary Crampton Pym was an English novelist. In 1977 her career was revived when two prominent writers, Lord David Cecil and Philip Larkin, nominated her as the most underrated writer of the century...
, Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Mortimer
Penelope Ruth Mortimer , was a British journalist, biographer and novelist.-Early life:...
, and Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor (novelist)
Elizabeth Taylor was a British novelist and short story writer.-Life and writings:...
. He admires these writers for their elegant and accomplished use of language and their penetrating and sensitive exploration of personal life. He also admires the writing of the late William Maxwell
William Keepers Maxwell, Jr.
William Keepers Maxwell, Jr. was an American novelist and editor.-Life:Maxwell was born in Lincoln, Illinois, and as a child, he survived the 1918 Influenza epidemic. He attended the University of Illinois and Harvard University...
for its natural elegance and deeply felt humanity. Shirley Hazzard
Shirley Hazzard
Shirley Hazzard is an Australian author of fiction and nonfiction. She was born in Australia, but holds citizenship in Great Britain and the United States...
, James Salter
James Salter
James Salter is an American novelist and short-story writer. Once a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, he abandoned the military profession in 1957 after successful publication of his first novel, The Hunters.After a brief career at film writing and film directing, Salter...
, and Denton Welch
Denton Welch
Maurice Denton Welch was an English-American writer and painter, admired for his vivid prose and precise descriptions.-Biography:...
are also revered.
After arriving in New York City in 1982, Cameron worked for a year in the subsidiary rights department of St. Martin’s Press. Upon realizing he did not want to pursue a career in publishing, he began doing administrative work for non-profit organizations. From 1983 to 1988, he worked for the Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land is a land conservation nonprofit founded in 1972 by Huey Johnson and based in San Francisco, California in the United States. TPL works throughout the United States to conserve land for people as parks, gardens, and other natural places.- TPL Conservation Initiatives :TPL...
, a land-conservation organization, and from 1990 to 1998 he worked for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
Lambda Legal
Lambda Legal is an American civil rights organization that focuses on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender communities as well as people living with HIV/AIDS through impact litigation, education, and public policy work.Lambda's founder William J. Thom, Esq...
, a legal organization that protects and extends the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
of gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
men, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
s, and people with HIV/AIDS. In 1987 he taught writing at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin, Ohio
Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, to the south and west of Cleveland. Oberlin is perhaps best known for being the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students...
, and from 1990–1996 he taught in the MFA
Master of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
program at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's Graduate School of the Arts. From 1998 to 2005 he taught in Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
’s MFA program. He taught at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in the fall of 2005.
In March 2005 his first play, A Thing of the Past, was read at Lincoln Center Theater by a cast including Marian Seldes
Marian Seldes
Marian Hall Seldes is an American stage, film, radio, and television actress whose career has spanned six decades and who was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Life and career:...
and Estelle Parsons
Estelle Parsons
Estelle Margaret Parsons is an American theatre, film and television actress and occasional theatrical director.After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program Today and made her stage debut in 1961...
. A new novel, Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You, was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in September 2007.
Books
- One Way or Another (collection of short stories) (1986)
- Leap Year (novel) (1990)
- Far-flung (stories) (1991)
- The Weekend (novel) (1995)
- The Half You Don't Know: Selected Stories (1983-present)
- AndorraAndorra (novel)Andorra is a 1997 novel by American writer Peter Cameron. The story takes place in the small country of Andorra, which is located in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. However, the Andorra of the novel bears little relation to the geography or culture of the real country....
(novel) (1997) - The City of Your Final Destination (2002)
- Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To YouSomeday This Pain Will Be Useful To YouSomeday This Pain Will Be Useful to You is a fiction young adult novel by Peter Cameron. James Sveck, the protagonist, tells the reader about his life, including the reasons he became the "Missing Misfit" and is seeing the psychiatrist.-Plot:...
(novel) (2007)