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Christopher John Offutt (born August 24, 1958) is an American writer. He is most widely known for his short stories and novels, but he has also published three memoirs and multiple nonfiction articles. In 2005, he had a story included in a comic book collection edited byMichael Chabon, and another in the anthologyNoir. He has written episodes for the TV seriesTrue Blood andWeeds.
Chris Offutt was born inLexington, Kentucky, the son ofAndrew J. Offutt, an author, and his wife Jodie. His brotherJeff Offutt is a professor of software engineering. He has two sisters: Scotty Hyde, who lives in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Melissa Offutt, who lives in San Diego. They grew up inHaldeman, a small formermining community located inRowan County in theAppalachian Mountain foothills of eastern Kentucky.[1] They all attended public schools. Offutt quit high school intending to join the army, but failed the physical.[citation needed] Offutt subsequently attendedMorehead State University and graduated with a degree in theater and a minor in English. After college, he hitchhiked around the country, taking more than 50 jobs, all part-time, and began writing.[citation needed]
Offutt later attended theIowa Writers' Workshop.
In 1992, Offutt published his first short story collection,Kentucky Straight. His second book was the 1993 memoirThe Same River Twice. In 1997 he published his first novel,The Good Brother. In 1998 he publishedTwo-Eleven All Around.
In 1999, he published his second collection of stories,Out of the Woods. His next book was a memoir,No Heroes: A Memoir of Coming Home (2002), about a six-month return toRowan County where he had lived as a child.
Offutt's story, “Chuck’s Bucket,” was included inMcSweeney’s Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales (2002), edited byMichael Chabon.[2] In 2005, Offutt made his comic book debut when he wrote "Another Man's Escape" forMichael Chabon Presents: The Amazing Adventures ofthe Escapist. A second comic is included in the anthologyNoir, from Dark Horse Comics.[citation needed]
Offutt has been a visiting faculty member at theIowa Writers' Workshop, theUniversity of Montana, theUniversity of New Mexico,Grinnell College,Morehead State University, andMercer University. He is teaching at theUniversity of Mississippi as visiting faculty.
In addition to his fiction, Offutt writes non-fiction articles, which have been published inThe New York Times,Men's Journal, and theOxford American and aired onNational Public Radio.[citation needed] His work is widely translated, and it is taught in high schools and colleges. His stories are included in many anthologies, includingBest American Short Stories, andNew Stories of the South (four works). They have twice been featured on "Selected Shorts" onNPR. He has also written screenplays for TV series.
His work has received awards from the Lannan Foundation,Guggenheim Foundation, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Letters, and theNational Endowment for the Arts. He received aWhiting Award in Fiction and Nonfiction. In 1996 Offutt was named one of the twenty best young American fiction writers byGranta magazine.[3]
