Carrie Brown (author)


Carrie Brown is an American novelist. She is the author of seven novels and a collection of short stories. Her most recent novel, The Stargazer's Sister, was published by Pantheon Books in January 2016.

Background and education

A Connecticut native, Brown received her Bachelor of Arts from Brown University in 1981 and her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Virginia, where she was a Henry Hoyns Fellow, in 1998. She has taught at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and currently, she is the Margaret Banister Writer-in-Residence at Sweet Briar College. She lives with her husband, the novelist John Gregory Brown, in Sweet Briar, Virginia.

Work

Brown's first novel, Rose's Garden won the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award. The New York Times Book Review deemed it "A magical first novel...both luminous and wise,"
In a starred review of her second novel, Lamb in Love, Publishers Weekly wrote "Brown eloquently explores the terrain of human interactions, showing how genuine love can exalt ordinary individuals." The New York Times Book Review called the novel "unconventional and eloquent."
The Hatbox Baby won the 2001 Library of Virginia Literary Award, the 2001 Great Lakes Independent Booksellers Association Award, and the 2000 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize.
Her story collection The House on Belle Isle appeared in 2002. It was a finalist for the 2003 LIbrary of Virginia Literary Award, and The Chicago Tribune called it “Rich in image and insight, gracefully written and peopled with characters who quietly demand our loving attention.”
Confinement won the 2005 Library of Virginia Literary Award In their review of the book, People Magazine wrote:
"This beautiful novel maps the emotional life of a World War II refugee who becomes trapped in his new existence in America" and called it "part Sophie’s Choice, part Anne Tyler.”
Brown's novel The Rope Walk. It was a finalist for the 2008 Library of Virginia Literary Award and the 2008 Library of Virginia People's Choice Award. In addition, it was named the 2009 All Iowa Reads Book by the Iowa Public Library. The Washington Post Book World called the novel "gentle, lyrical" and the New Orleans Times Picayune said: "reading this novel is a serious pleasure."

Awards and honors