Annie Weatherwax is an artist and author, most notable for her breakout novel, All We Had.[1][2] Weatherwax is a known visual artist[3] who describes her artistic voice as "comic realism."[4][5] She often writes about social justice[6] and the relationship between visual arts and writing.[7][8] She has been influenced by the work of Flannery O'Connor, Alice Neel, Lorrie Moore, Roy Litchenstein, and Andy Warhol.[4]

Early life

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Weatherwax has dyslexia and had a hard time in school growing up. She says, "I struggled a lot when I was kid. I'm an exceedingly slow reader. I read a lot, because I love it so much, but I definitely struggle with it."[7] Despite her struggle with dyslexia, Weatherwax went on to graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design.[9][10]

Career

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Weatherwax began her artistic career as a visual artist, working professionally sculpting superheroes and cartoon characters for Nickelodeon, DC Comics, Warner Brothers, and Pixar.[11] She also paints.[9]

Writing

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All We Had

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Her book, All We Had, published in August 2014,[12] was a finalist for the Massachusetts Book Award.[11][13][14] The novel was also a pick for Oprah's Book Club[15] and the Washingtonian's "Top 10 Books for August 2014."[16] All We Had was optioned by Katie Holmes, who adapted the story into a movie in her directorial debut.[17][18][19]

Awards and publications

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As an author, she won the 2009 Robert Olen Butler Prize for Fiction,[9][20] and her work has been published in The New York Times, The Sun Magazine, Ploughshares,[21] The Southern Review,[22] among others.[11] In 2018, she was awarded a fellowship from Yaddo for her writing.[23][24]

References

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  1. ^ Weatherwax, Annie. All We Had. Scribner.
  2. ^ "12 Literary Families to Invite Over for Thanksgiving". HuffPost. 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  3. ^ Brown, Stacia L. ""All We Had" and white victims of the housing crisis". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  4. ^ a b weatherwax. "artist's statement". Annie Weatherwax. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. ^ "Table for Two: An Interview with Debut Author Annie Weatherwax". Bill and Dave's Cocktail Hour. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  6. ^ "IN magazine Feb 2015". issuu. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  7. ^ a b "Writing an extension of Annie Weatherwax's visual art - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  8. ^ "Light and Dark". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  9. ^ a b c "Annie Weatherwax". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  10. ^ Cotter, Betty J. "Book review: Teen and her single mother face economic hardships". providencejournal.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  11. ^ a b c weatherwax. "about". Annie Weatherwax. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  12. ^ "Annie Weatherwax". www.wbur.org. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  13. ^ "Roslindale author wins Massachusetts book award". Roslindale Transcript. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  14. ^ "Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng Wins the Massachusetts Book Award for Fiction - News About Penguin Books USA". Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  15. ^ "All We Had". Oprah.com. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  16. ^ "Top 10 Books for August 2014 | Washingtonian (DC)". Washingtonian. 2014-08-04. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  17. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2014-09-11). "Katie Holmes To Direct 'All We Had'". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  18. ^ Katie Holmes interviewed on 'Good Morning America', retrieved 2019-12-12
  19. ^ McNary, Dave (2014-09-11). "Katie Holmes Moves to Director's Chair for Mother-Daughter Story 'All We Had'". Variety. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
  20. ^ "Annie Weatherwax | Craft on Draft". 29 December 2016. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  21. ^ "Annie Weatherwax". blog.pshares.org. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  22. ^ "The Southern Review: Contributors: Annie Weatherwax". thesouthernreview.org. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  23. ^ "Writers". Yaddo. 2016-09-11. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  24. ^ "Annual Report: 2018" (PDF). Yaddo. Retrieved 9 July 2020.