Anthony Doerr (born 1973) is an American writer of novels, short stories, and essays. He is best known for All the Light We Cannot See (2014), which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2015. His most recent novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land (2021), was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the Grand prix de littérature américaine in France.
Anthony Doerr was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended University School in Hunting Valley and graduated in 1991. He studied history at Bowdoin College in Maine, completing his degree in 1995, and later earned an MFA from Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
His first book, The Shell Collector (2002), was a collection of short stories. His debut novel, About Grace (2004), followed two years later. Doerr’s memoir, Four Seasons in Rome (2007), described his experiences living in Italy with his wife and newborn twin sons. A second story collection, Memory Wall (2010), was awarded the Story Prize, regarded as the most significant American prize for short fiction.
Doerr achieved international acclaim with his second novel, All the Light We Cannot See (2014). Set in occupied France during World War II, the story follows Marie-Laure, a blind French girl, and Werner, a German boy, as their paths converge. It spent more than 200 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List and won both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction in 2015.
"It's overwhelming," Doerr said after receiving the award. I really haven't had a chance to understand what this means."
He continued to publish essays and short stories, which appeared in The Best American Short Stories and The Best American Essays, as well as in various journals and anthologies. His work earned five O. Henry Prizes, four Pushcart Prizes, and recognition from the American Library Association and the National Magazine Awards. From 2007 to 2010, he served as Idaho’s Writer in Residence.
Doerr’s third novel, Cloud Cuckoo Land (2021), spans centuries and interwoven storylines. It explores the power of literature to endure across time, linking a 1453 Constantinople siege, a modern-day library attack in Idaho, and a future voyage into space. The book was a finalist for the National Book Award and for Novel of the Year at the British Book Awards.
Doerr writes a science book column for The Boston Globe and contributes essays to online magazines. He lives in Boise, Idaho, with his wife, Shauna Eastman and their twin sons.
Photo credit: www.anthonydoerr.com
