On the way to writing "Olive Kitteridge," the collection of linked stories that would win her a 2009 Pulitzer Prize, Elizabeth Strout made one of those intuitive leaps that show why the creation of fiction is such a mysterious enterprise.
Fiction Pulitzer Prize Winner Elizabeth Strout Talks Writing, 'Olive Kitteridge' Bob Thompson The Washington Post August 4, 2009
“Philip telephoned the night I first arrived. He sounded mature and serious, with his British accent. We agreed I would travel to Oxford the next weekend. He lived at his college, but he had friends whose “flat” I could stay in.
When I hung up, Margaret said, “I’d feel better, Lizzie, if you stayed in a hotel.””
“English Lesson: A Memoir by Elizabeth Strout” Washington Post Magazine July 12, 2009
Elizabeth has won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for her novel, Olive Kitteridge.
The citation reads: "For distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life,"
Awarded to “Olive Kitteridge,” by Elizabeth Strout (Random House), a collection of 13 short stories set in small-town Maine that packs a cumulative emotional wallop, bound together by polished prose and by Olive, the title character, blunt, flawed and fascinating.
Lee C. Bollinger, President of Columbia University, presents the 2009 Fiction prize to Elizabeth Strout.
https://charlierose.com/videos/2289
Elizabeth Strout: A Conversation with author Elizabeth Strout about her novel Amy & Isabelle
Charlie Rose
March 4, 1999
Here's how real the characters are to me: While I was working on this essay, I caught myself withholding information about the characters to protect their privacy.
Who Says You Have To Like A Character? Melissa Bank NPR, You Must Read This December 08, 2008
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