Andrew Sean Greer is an award-winning and bestselling American author. He is famous for his comic novel ‘Less,’ which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2018.
Andrew Sean Greer is an American novelist and short-story writer. He has been a published author for over twenty years, with one short-story collection and six novels to his credit. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2018 for his fifth novel titled Less.
Life Facts
- Andrew Sean Greer was born on November 5, 1970, in Washington DC, USA
- Andrew Sean Greer is an identical twin. His twin brother’s name is Micheal Greer
- He is married to David Ross, a tech Management Consultant, and they have shared a home for over sixteen years
- Andrew Sean Greer attended high school at Georgetown Day School, Washington DC. Then proceeded to study Writing at Brown University, Rhode Island.
- He lives in San Francisco, USA, and Milan, Italy.
Interesting Facts
- Andrew Sean Greer won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel titled Less
- Andrew Sean Greer is homosexual, but his identical twin brother is heterosexual.
- Greer continued his studies after his bachelor’s. He has a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Montana.
- Greer is a judge for the National Book Award
- Andrew Sean Greer taught at the Frier Universitat Berlin, Germany, and the Iowa Writer’s Workshop and is a Fellow of the New York Public Library Cullman Center, as well as many other fellowships.
- Greer did some interesting side jobs before becoming a professional writer, including being a chauffeur and a television extra.
Early Life and Education
Andrew Sean Greer was born in November 1970 in Washington, D.C. He grew up in the suburbs of Washington D.C, with his close-knit family that includes his twin brother, Micheal, and his parents, who are both chemists.
Greer said all he had ever wanted was to be a writer and tells an anecdote about his time as a ten-year-old boy in Georgetown Day School when his class had been asked to write a 10-page novel. Greer’s piece had impressed his teacher Mrs. Polly so much that after scoring him an A with triple plus, she wrote on the last page of his essay that he should reach out to her when he became a famous writer. Greer says with regrets that he has tried but has not been able to track the teacher yet.
Greer said the AIDS epidemic had put him in a perpetual state of anxiety about his sexuality while growing up. He was always going for tests and worrying about everything he had done while waiting to get the test results. He said that seeing death all around him at that sensitive point in his life had been worrisome.
After high school, Greer went to the nearby Rhode Island to study Writing at Brown University. He was the commencement speaker at his own graduation ceremony.
Greer relocated to New York after he graduated from Brown University. In New York, he worked as a Chauffeur, an extra on TV shows, and as a reservationist at a fancy restaurant, where he was often scolded for not recognizing celebrities. He also tried writing but had no breakthrough at first, then decided to move to Missoula, Montana, in 1996 for further studies. There, he received a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degree from the University of Montana, USA.
Literary Career
After obtaining a master’s degree, Greer moved to Seattle, where he wrote for Nintendo and taught community college, then to San Francisco, where he began to publish in magazines such as Esquire, The Paris Review, and The New Yorker, before publishing his own collection of short stories, How It Was for Me. The New York Times book review praised it, commenting that “Greer’s descriptive talents are immense.”
Andrew Sean Greer now has seven books to his credit which includes a collection of stories and six novels. His novels are as follows: The Path of Minor Planets (2001), The Confessions of Max Tivoli (2004), The Story of a Marriage (2008), The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells (2013), Less (2017), and the latest book titled Less is Lost (2022).
Greer is a judge for the National Book Award and teaches literature courses in various countries and institutions. He is also a Fellow of many prestigious literary bodies, including the National Education Association.
Marriage and Personal Life
Andrew Sean Greer is married to David Ross, a management consultant in the tech industry. Greer and Ross were introduced to each other at a mall in Missoula, Montana, when Greer was studying for his master’s degree. They have lived together as partners in Greer’s San Francisco home for sixteen years.
Greer’s twin brother Micheal lives in the same neighborhood, and they all get along as a family.
Greer and Ross do not have a child currently, but have a dog called Olive that they both adore.
Literature by Andrew Sean Greer
Explore literature by Andrew Sean Greer below, created by the team at Book Analysis.