Winston F. Groom, Jr. is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and
non-fictionNon-fiction is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be fact...
writerA 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....
, best known for his book
Forrest GumpForrest Gump is a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp boating and ping pong championships to thinking about his childhood love. The Vietnam War and college football are all part of the story. Throughout his life, Gump views the world simply...
, which was adapted into
a filmForrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
in 1994.
Life
Winston Groom was born in
Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, and was raised in
Mobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
where he attended University Military School (now known as
UMS-Wright Preparatory School- History :The UMS-Wright Preparatory School has its foundation in the life of one man—Julius Tutwiler Wright. His goal was an education for the whole person-mental, moral, and physical-intensively tailored to the needs of the individual student. His goal remains central today to the educational...
). Groom's earliest ambition was to become a lawyer like his father, but instead, while a literary editor in college, he chose to become a writer. Groom attended the
University of AlabamaThe University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
, was a member of
Delta Tau DeltaDelta Tau Delta is a U.S.-based international secret letter college fraternity. Delta Tau Delta was founded in 1858 at Bethany College, Bethany, Virginia, . It currently has around 125 student chapters nationwide, as well as more than 25 regional alumni groups. Its national community service...
Fraternity and the
ArmyThe United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
ROTCThe Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a college-based, officer commissioning program, predominantly in the United States. It is designed as a college elective that focuses on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.The U.S...
, graduating in 1965. He served in the Army from 1965 to 1969, including a
tour of dutyIn the Navy, a tour of duty is a period of time spent performing operational duties at sea, including combat, performing patrol or fleet duties, or assigned to service in a foreign country....
in the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Upon his return from
VietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, he worked as a reporter for the
Washington StarThe Washington Star, previously known as the Washington Star-News and the Washington Evening Star, was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C. between 1852 and 1981. For most of that time, it was the city's newspaper of record, and the longtime home to columnist Mary McGrory and...
, a Washington D. C. newspaper covering police and courtroom activities. Groom retired as a journalist at age 32, and began writing his first novel
Better Times Than These which was published in 1978.
Better Times Than These was about a group of patriotic soldiers in the Vietnam War whose lives and patriotism both are shattered. His next novel
As Summers Die (1980) received better recognition. His novel
Conversations with the Enemy (1982) follows an American Vietnam War soldier who escapes from a POW camp and takes a plane back to the United States only to be arrested fourteen years later for desertion.
Conversations with the Enemy was a finalist for the
Pulitzer 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...
in 1983.
In 1985, Groom moved back to
Mobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
where he began to work on the novel
Forrest GumpForrest Gump is a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp boating and ping pong championships to thinking about his childhood love. The Vietnam War and college football are all part of the story. Throughout his life, Gump views the world simply...
.
Forrest Gump was published in 1986; however, it did not make Groom a best selling author until it was
adapted into a film with the same nameForrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...
in 1994 starring
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
in the title role of
Forrest GumpForrest Gump is a fictional character who first appears in the 1986 eponymous novel by Winston Groom. Forrest Gump also appeared on screen in the 1994 film of the same name directed by Robert Zemeckis. Gump was portrayed as a child by Michael Humphreys and portrayed as an adult by Tom Hanks, who...
. The film propelled the novel to bestseller status and it sold 1.7 million copies worldwide.
Groom devotes his time to writing history books about American wars. He has lived most recently in
Point Clear, AlabamaPoint Clear is an unincorporated census-designated place in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 1,876. It is part of the Daphne–Fairhope–Foley Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. and Long Island, New York with his wife, Anne-Clinton and daughter, Carolina. Groom was an old friend of writer
Willie MorrisWilliam Weaks "Willie" Morris , was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi, though his family later moved to Yazoo City, Mississippi, which he immortalized in his works of prose. Morris' trademark was his lyrical prose style and reflections on the American South, particularly...
, dating to their days together in Bridgehampton, Long Island, New York.
Groom was also involved in a high-profile lawsuit with the studio regarding his percentage of the net profit of Forrest Gump. Groom was to receive a portion of the net income (rather than the gross revenue), but the studio argued the film lost money due to other costs from the studio (distribution fees, studio overhead, etc.) that were factored into the films final production budget. Groom won the case.
Novels
- Better Times Than These (1978)
- As Summers Die (1980)
- Conversations with the Enemy (1982, with Duncan Spencer
Duncan Spencer was an English cricketer. Born in Nelson, Lancashire, he was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm fast bowler...
)
- Only (1984, novel)
- Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. The title character experiences adventures ranging from shrimp boating and ping pong championships to thinking about his childhood love. The Vietnam War and college football are all part of the story. Throughout his life, Gump views the world simply...
(1986)
- Gone the Sun (1988)
- Gump and Co.
Gump and Co. is a 1995 novel by Winston Groom. It is the sequel to his novel Forrest Gump.-Story:...
(1995)
- Such a Pretty, Pretty Girl (1998)
Nonfiction
- Shrouds of Glory: From Atlanta to Nashville: The Last Great Campaign of the Civil War (1995)
- The Crimson Tide: An Illustrated History of Football at the University of Alabama (2002)
- A Storm in Flanders: The Triumph and Tragedy on the Western Front (2002)
- 1942: The Year that Tried Men's Souls (2004)
- Patriotic Fire: Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans (2006)
- Vicksburg, 1863 (2009)
- The Crimson Tide: The Official Illustrated History of Alabama Football, National Championship Edition (2010)
External links