Jeffrey Eugenides

Jeffrey Eugenides is an American-born writer who has won several awards for his works of fiction, particularly his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1960 and has been writing since his teenage years. Jeffery has published four novels, including The Virgin Suicides, The Marriage Plot, and The Krapsis Aporia, as well as numerous short stories and essays.

Jeffrey has been named one of the New York Public Library’s “Writers for the 21st Century”, and has been honored with numerous awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, a Whiting Writer’s Award, and a fellowship from the Guggenheim Foundation. Jeffrey has been described as one of the most talented writers of his generation.

Since the publication of his first novel The Virgin Suicides in 1993, a darkly comic look at adolescence, Jeffrey has continued to write novels that are both character-driven and complex, exploring complex themes of identity, love, and loss. His second novel The Marriage Plot, which was published in 2011, was a best-seller and was named one of the 25 Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post. The Marriage Plot follows the story of three recent college grads exploring their relationships and religious faith.

Jeffrey’s third novel The Krapsis Aporia was published in 2014 and is a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, about a young musician’s quest for immortality. His fourth novel and perhaps his most popular work, Middlesex, was published in 2002 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2003. Middlesex tells the story of a hermaphrodite growing up in Detroit in the 1970s. The novel is thought to be autistic, one of the few novels to focus on this underrepresented group. Its unique narrative structure has been praised by critics and readers alike.

Behind Jeffrey’s literary success lies a life of perseverance and dedication. As part of a working-class family, Jeffrey had to overcome obstacles in order to receive a college education, graduating magna cum laude from Brown University. He then went on to receive his master’s degree from Stanford University, where he wrote multiple stories and received the Aga Khan Prize for fiction.

Today, Jeffrey lives in Princeton, New Jersey, lecturing at Princeton University and serving as the director of creative writing program for the university. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and a board member of the National Book Critics Circle. In 2021, Jeffrey was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He continues to write and publish fiction and non-fiction works, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to literature, creativity, and exploration of identity.