Joyce Carol Oates

In 1961, she married Raymond Smith, whom she met at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. They opened the publishing house, Ontario Review Books. He died of pneumonia in 2008.

In 2009, she married Charles Gross, a Professor at Princeton’s Psychology Department and Neuroscience Institute.

She serves as a member of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, which awards Guggenheim Fellowships for writing.

Born in Lockport, New York, as the first child of Frederic James Oates, a tool and die designer and Carolina, a homemaker, Joyce Carol Oates was raised a Catholic.

She was brought up in a modest working-class community farm in Millersport, New York. She developed a close bond with her paternal grandmother, Blanche Woodside.

She was educated in a rural ‘one-room-school’ and loved to read. She started writing at the age of 14 with her typewriter, which was a gift from her grandmother

She was later sent to a school in the suburbs and in 1956, she graduated from the Williamsville South High School. In school, she wrote for their newspaper and became the first in her family to finish high school.

She attended the Syracuse University on scholarship, where she won a short story contest. She graduated in 1960 with an English degree. The next year, she graduated from University of Wisconsin–Madison with an M.A.

She took up a teaching job in Texas and in 1962, she started teaching at the University of Detroit. The following year, she came out with her first book, ‘By the North Gate', which was a collection of short stories.

In 1964, at the age of 26, her first novel, ‘With Shuddering Fall ' was published. The plot revolved around the lives of two women, ‘Shar’ and ‘Karen’ and chronicled their unsuccessful love lives.

In 1966, her short story, ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been' was published in the 'Epoch Magazine'. The same year, she came out with her book of short stories, ‘Upon the Sweeping Flood And Other Stories'.

In 1967, her award winning novel, ‘A Garden of Earthly Delights' was published. The following year, she published the book, ‘Women In Love and Other Poems' and the novel, 'Expensive People'.

In 1969, one of her most acclaimed and award winning novels, ‘Them’ was published. The next year, her book of short stories, ‘The Wheel of Love and Other Stories' was published.

Her book, ‘Blonde’ was listed as one of her best books by ‘Rocky Mountain News’ and ‘Entertainment Weekly’. In 2001, the novel was adapted into a CBS miniseries of the same name.

Her award-winning book, ‘Black Water’ was listed as one of her best books by ‘Rocky Mountain News’, ‘Entertainment Weekly’ and 'The Times'. The book also gained good reviews from ' The New York Times'.