Phil Klay

Phil Klay is an American author and veterans advocate whose short story collection Redeployment won the National Book Award in 2014. He is currently a visiting professor at New York University.

Phil Klay was born in Washington, DC on May 3, 1983. He grew up in the United States and moved to Dallas, Texas as a child. He graduated with a degree in English and Classics from Dartmouth College in 2006 and then joined the United States Marine Corps. He served in Iraq as an infantry officer from 2007-2008. Upon returning to the United States he attended Hunter College, part of the City University of New York, and earned a Master's Degree in Creative Writing in 2011.

Klay's experiences as a Marine during the Iraq War informed his writing and his activism, particularly in the area of veterans' rights. He often speaks at colleges and universities about both his experiences in Iraq and the issues currently facing veterans. Much of his short fiction and non-fiction works deal with themes of war and its aftermath, and how those experiences shape individuals and collective societies.

Klay's short story collection Redeployment, published in 2014, was lauded by critics and readers alike, and it won the National Book Award in the same year. It was hailed as a powerful and important examination of the costs and consequences of war, both for individuals and for societies as a whole. The stories in Redeployment focus on themes such as the alienation and loneliness of soldiers during their deployments, the lasting and sometimes destructive impact their experiences have on civilians and veterans alike, and the courage and resilience needed to cope and survive.

In addition to Redeployment, Klay has also written the non-fiction work Missionaries, which was published in 2019. Missionaries is comprised of four novellas that follow two American soldiers after their return from Iraq, as they navigate the bureaucratic maze of the veterans support system, deal with both physical and mental injuries, and try to create a sense of themselves in a world that can no longer tolerate war and its horrors. The book was later chosen by The NewYork Times to be included in their list of "10 Best Books of 2019."

Phil Klay is an important voice in the literature of war, who speaks powerfully and poetically about the pain and trauma of war while also exploring the wider implications of war and its aftermath. Through his writing and speaking engagements, Klay is an influential advocate that is dedicated to drawing attention to the issues faced by veterans and their families. With his unique voice and empathy, Klay has been able to help bring people's stories to life and to a wider audience, and his work has been an important contribution to the literature of war.