Mitchell James Kaplan

Last updated
Mitchell James Kaplan
Mitchell james kaplan headshot.jpg
Mitchell James Kaplan in Ephesus, Turkey
Born
Mitchell James Kaplan

Education Yale University
Occupations
  • Writer
  • Musician
SpouseAnnie Kaplan
Children2
Awards
Website mitchelljameskaplan.com/

Mitchell James Kaplan is an American author. He has published three fiction novels: By Fire, By Water, Into the Unbounded Night, and Rhapsody.By Fire, By Water won the 2011 Independent Publishers Award Gold Medal for Historical Fiction. He has also written book reviews and literary commentaries for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Contents

Early life

Mitchell James Kaplan attended The Cate School, a boarding preparatory high school near Santa Barbara, California. [1]

Following time at Yale University, Kaplan spent four years in France, where he worked as a translator. [2] He returned to California in 1986, where he and his wife worked in the film industry as script doctors and wrote several screenplays of their own. [2]

Career

Author

By Fire, By Water

Kaplan spent six years writing his first novel, By Fire, By Water, which was published by Other Press in 2010. By Fire, By Water was a Book Club selection of the Jewish Book Council and Kaplan was invited to speak in venues throughout the United States, Mexico, and Italy. He was honored as one of the six up-and-coming authors in the “First Author, First Book” program at the 2010 American Library Association conference in Washington, DC. [3] By Fire, By Water received numerous awards and accolades including the 2011 Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medal for Historical Fiction, the ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Award Bronze Medal for Historical Fiction, an Eric Hoffer Award Honorable Mention in the General Fiction category, and the Adelina Della Pergola Students' Choice Prize for the Italian edition. [4] It was one of fifteen novels nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award in Historical Fiction< [5] and was selected as Book of the Year by "One Book, One Community" organizations in Philadelphia and other cities. In the Minneapolis Star-Tribune , Pamela Miller called By Fire, By Water "[a] remarkably learned and heartbreaking romantic novel." In “Haaretz”, Matt Beynon Rees wrote that it "must take its place as one of the most important contemporary historical novels with a Jewish theme." Tirdad Derakshani, in The Philadelphia Inquirer , called By Fire, By Water "a beautiful tapestry... Despite its epic sweep, [it] is also an intimate portrait of a remarkable individual." [6] Rege Behe, in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review , called it "a grand novel."

Into the Unbounded Night

Kaplan's second novel, Into the Unbounded Night, was published in September 2020 by Regal House. [7] In The Millions, Martha Anne Toll called the novel "sweeping and absorbing". [8] Pamela Miller, in the Minneapolis StarTribune , said: "Kaplan is a gifted storyteller and approaches his story with reverence and nuance. The pursuit of meaning and hope in a dark time is an age-old theme, and yet ever fresh. Into the Unbounded Night is a perfect book to top our reading piles in the coming COVID winter." [9]

Rhapsody

Kaplan's third novel, Rhapsody, was published on March 2, 2021, by Gallery Books / Simon & Schuster. [10] It has been prominently reviewed and appeared on several “Most Exciting Upcoming Reads” lists. Rhapsody appeared on many “Best of 2021” lists; critics and readers were again enthusiastic: "Kaplan (By Fire, by Water) builds an enchanting world featuring musical giants George Gershwin and Kay Swift... This spellbinding and luminous tale will linger in readers’ minds long after the final page is turned." ( Publishers Weekly , Starred Review); “A complex and involving story… It is difficult to imagine living a more incredible first half of a life than Swift’s, and Mitchell James Kaplan’s prose luxuriates in depicting her surprising and wildly artistic world.” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette); "Kaplan’s well-researched and well-crafted historical novel recreates the 1920s and ’30s, telling a mesmerizing story that examines their individual and intersecting lives. He explores why, for Gershwin and Swift, 'ordinary results' were not enough." ( Yale Alumni Magazine ) In July, 2022, the Library of Virginia announced that "Rhapsody" was a Finalist in their People's Choice Award. [11]

Other professional activities

Kaplan has written book reviews and literary commentaries for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Personal life

Mitchell completed the first draft of his first novel, By Fire, By Water, in his country house in Big Bear, California. [2]

Awards and highlights

Bibliography

Fiction

Selected articles

Multimedia

Related Research Articles

Dan Simmons is an American science fiction and horror writer. He is the author of the Hyperion Cantos and the Ilium/Olympos cycles, among other works which span the science fiction, horror, and fantasy genres, sometimes within a single novel. Simmons's genre-intermingling Song of Kali (1985) won the World Fantasy Award. He also writes mysteries and thrillers, some of which feature the continuing character Joe Kurtz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pulitzer Prize for Fiction</span> American award for distinguished novels

The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Styron</span> American writer (1925–2006)

William Clark Styron Jr. was an American novelist and essayist who won major literary awards for his work.

<i>Sophies Choice</i> (novel) 1979 novel by William Styron

Sophie's Choice is a 1979 novel by American author William Styron. The author's last novel, it concerns the relationships among three people sharing a boarding house in Brooklyn: Stingo, a young aspiring writer from the South, Jewish scientist Nathan Landau, and his lover Sophie, a Polish-Catholic survivor of the German Nazi concentration camps, whom Stingo befriends.

The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Finalists read from their works at the presentation ceremony in the Great Hall of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. The organization claims it to be "the largest peer-juried award in the country." The award was first given in 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Linda Sue Park</span> Korean-American author (born 1960)

Linda Sue Park is a Korean-American author who published her first novel, Seesaw Girl, in 1999. She has written six children's novels and five picture books. Park's work achieved prominence when she received the prestigious 2002 Newbery Medal for her novel A Single Shard. She has written the ninth book in The 39 Clues, Storm Warning, published on May 25, 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewell Parker Rhodes</span> American writer

Jewell Parker Rhodes is an American bestselling novelist and educator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Foran</span> Canadian writer in Toronto, Ontario

Charles William Foran is a Canadian writer in Toronto, Ontario.

James C. Kaplan is an American novelist, journalist, and biographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassandra Clare</span> American author

Judith Lewis, better known by her pen name Cassandra Clare, is an American author of young adult fiction, best known for her bestselling series The Mortal Instruments.

Lauren Belfer is an American author of four novels: City of Light, A Fierce Radiance, And After the Fire andAshton Hall, which was published in June of 2022.

<i>Bloods a Rover</i>

Blood's a Rover is a 2009 crime fiction novel by American author James Ellroy. It follows American Tabloid and The Cold Six Thousand as the final volume of Ellroy's Underworld USA Trilogy. A 10,000-word excerpt was published in the December 2008 issue of Playboy. The book was released on September 22, 2009. James Ellroy dedicated Blood's a Rover "To J.M. Comrade: For Everything You Gave Me."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Stern</span> American novelist

Steve J. Stern is an author from Memphis, Tennessee. Much of his work draws inspiration from Yiddish folklore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sinan Antoon</span> Iraqi poet, novelist, scholar, and literary translator

Sinan Antoon, is an Iraqi poet, novelist, scholar, and literary translator. He has been described as "one of the most acclaimed authors of the Arab world." Alberto Manguel described him as "one of the great fiction writers of our time.” He is an associate professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.

Sherrie Flick is an American fiction writer whose work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, North American Review, Quarterly West, Puerto del Sol, Weave Magazine, Quick Fiction, Lit Hub, and other literary magazines. Flick is also a regular contributor to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, which publishes her column "In a Writer's Urban Garden." In 2021, her work was performed by actress Marin Ireland for Symphony Space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heather Terrell</span> American novelist and lawyer (born 1968)

Heather Benedict Terrell is an American novelist and lawyer who writes some of her novels under the pen name Marie Benedict.

<i>Dangerous Girls</i> Novel by R. L. Stine

Dangerous Girls is the first novel in the Dangerous Girls series by R. L. Stine. First published in 2003, the novel was followed by a sequel, The Taste of Night, in 2004. Dangerous Girls has won awards, including the ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and the New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age.

Boston Teran is the pseudonymous American author of sixteen novels published between 1999 and 2023. Teran's legal identity is unknown, and the author engages in limited publicity by doing only one interview per book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Gidwitz</span> American childrens author

Adam Gidwitz is an American author of children's books, best known for A Tale Dark and Grimm (2010), In a Glass Grimmly (2012), and The Grimm Conclusion (2013). He received a 2017 Newbery Honor for The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, The Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog (2016). In 2021, his book A Tale Dark and Grimm was adapted into an animated miniseries on Netflix.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paco Ahlgren</span> American novelist

Paco Ahlgren is an American writer, musician, and financial journalist. His novel, Discipline, was published in July 2007 by Greenleaf Book Group; it went on to receive three awards for commercial fiction.

References

  1. Luke Ford (July 15, 2010). "By Fire, By Water". lukeford.net. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  2. 1 2 3 Boyd, Aila (2021-02-26). "Local Author Explores Jazz Age in Latest Novel". TheRoanoker.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  3. "Annual Conference 2010 Preview". American Libraries Magazine. 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  4. Marantonio, Mara (April 4, 2012). "XII Premio Letterario ADEI WIZO "Adelina Della Pergola"". SoloLibri.net (in Italian). Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  5. "Goodreads' Choice Awards 2010 – Page 2". List Challenges. Retrieved 2022-06-29.
  6. Derakhshani, Tirdad (October 7, 2010). "'By Fire, By Water' delves into key moment in Jewish History". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  7. "Into the Unbounded Night". Regal House Publishing. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  8. Martha Anne Toll (2020-12-23). "A Year in Reading: Martha Anne Toll". The Millions. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  9. Hewitt, Chris; Miller, Pamela (November 15, 2020). "REVIEWS: 'The End of the Day,' by Bill Clegg and 'Into the Unbounded Night,' by Mitchell James Kaplan". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  10. Kaplan, Mitchell James (2021-03-02). Rhapsody. ISBN   978-1-9821-0400-9.
  11. "Library of Virginia Annual Peoples Choice Awards".
  12. Deborah Schoeneman (September 19, 2010). "By Fire, By Water". www.jewishbookcouncil.org. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  13. "2011 Medalists". ippyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  14. "Eric Hoffer Book Award Winners". www.hofferaward.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.