Fun Facts Friday: Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer (31 January, 1923 – 10 November, 2007), one of the greatest American writers hailed from a middle class Jewish family to become one of the most provocative writers of the 1950s. Mailer wrote more than 50 books during his life and won the Pulitzer Prize Twice.

Books by Norman Mailer

1. Norman Mailer was born in Long Branch, NJ – however he grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
2. As a 9 year old boy, Mailer wrote a 250 page science fiction story called Invasion from Mars.
3. At age 16 Norman Mailer was admitted to Harvard.
4. At Harvard Mailer majored in Aeronautical Engineering. However he won a writing contest sponsored by Story magazine and already has made up his mind to become a professional writer.
5. When Mailer graduated college, the world was in the turmoil of World War II. Mailer joined the Army and served as a sergeant in the Pacific.
6. After the war, Mailer did his graduate studies at the Sorbonne in Paris.
7. During his time at the Sorbonne he wrote The Naked and the Dead which took him 15 months to write. Published in 1948The Naked and the Dead became Norman Mailer’s success and made him a celebrity at 25.
8. Mailer lived a year in Hollywood but moved to Greenwich Village becoming fascinated by radical politics.
9. During a drunken stupor Mailer stabbed his wife with a penknife. His wife refused to press charges but he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of assault.
10. There are two non-profit organizations named after Mailer: the “Norman Mailer Center” and “Norman Mailer Writer Society”.

Books by Norman Mailer

Zohar – Man of la Book

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