American author Shirley Jackson (14 December, 1916 -8 August, 1965) born on this day. She is best known for her excellent short story The Lottery.
Fun Facts about Shirley Jackson:
1 ) Jackson believed in white and black magic
2 ) The author influenced Stephen King and Neil Gaiman
3 ) Jackson’s husband, Stanley Hyman, is a noted jazz and literary critic.
4 ) When The Lottery was published in The New Yorker (26 June, 1948) many readers cancelled their subscription in anger.
5 ) South Africa banned The Lottery all together. Jackson took it as a compliment.
6 ) Jackson completed six novels.
7 ) Jackson, a housewife as well as a writer, said that writing is “the only way I can get to sit down.”
8 ) Jackson died of heart failure, thought to be brought on by smoking and weight issues.
9 ) In 2007 the Shirley Jackson Awards were established. The prize is awarded in several categories (short fiction, novellas, etc.) to stories in horror , the dark fantastic ,and psychological suspense.
10) Stephen King wrote: that “there are few if any descriptive passages in the English language that are any finer than this; it is the sort of quiet epiphany every writer hopes for: words that somehow transcend the sum of the parts.” About the opening paragraphs of The Haunting of Hill House.
Zohar — Man of la Book
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This post was first published as Fun Facts Friday: Shirley Jackson on 14 December, 2012.
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