Thomas Beller

Thomas Beller (born May 23, 1965) is an American author and editor.

Life

Born and raised in New York, Beller has remained a resident of his native city, which often features in his stories. He received his BA from Vassar College, and his MFA from the respected Columbia University Writing Program. Thomas Beller lives with his wife and child in New York City and New Orleans, LA where he teaches at Tulane University.

Career

While still studying for his MFA, "The New Yorker" published Beller's short story "A Different Kind of Perfection", which was chosen for the "Best American Short Stories" volume of 1992. Since, his work has appeared in such publications as "The New York Times", "ELLE", "Spin", "Vogue", "Slate", and "The Village Voice". He spent a year as a staff writer at "The New Yorker", and later worked for "The Cambodia Daily" newspaper, where he remains a contributing editor. He is a contributing editor to Travel+Leisure Magazine.

Beller has penned three volumes. The first, "Seduction Theory", a collection of short stories, was published in 1995. "The Sleep-Over Artist", Beller's first novel, was a "Los Angeles Times" Best Book of 2000, and a New York Times Notable Book. His third book, "How to Be a Man: Scenes from a Protracted Boyhood", is a series of autobiographical essays.

He co-founded the tri-annual literary magazine "Open City" with Daniel Pinchbeck in 1990. They were soon joined by the late Robert Bingham, who worked as an editor and publisher, and who founded the book division of the non-profit corporation Open City in 1999. Today, Beller and Joanna Yas, are the editors of the magazine and press, which publishes many new and young writers. He has also edited three anthologies: "With Love and Squalor: 14 Writers Respond to the Work of J.D. Salinger", "Before and After: Stories From New York", and "Personals: Dreams and Nightmares From the Lives of Twenty Young Writers".

Thomas Beller is also the creator of the literary website "Mr. Beller's Neighborhood", a collection of essays, reportage, and vignettes by various authors, including Beller himself. All of the pieces are set in or about Beller's native New York City; the collection has been growing since 2000. The location of each story is marked on a map. In 2002, the site was nominated for a Webby Award in the Print and Zine category and published a book: "Before and After: Stories from New York", which pivots around the September 11 attacks.

Bibliography

*"Seduction Theory" (1995)
*"The Sleep-Over Artist" (2000)
*"How to be a Man: Scenes from a Protracted Boyhood" (2005)

External links

* [http://thomasbeller.com/ Official site]
* [http://www.opencity.org/index.html Open City Magazine and Books]
* [http://mrbellersneighborhood.com/ Mr. Beller's Neighborhood]