Jeffrey Kent Eugenides is a highly acclaimed American novelist and short story writer. He was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1960 to a mother of Irish-English ancestry and a father with Greek descent. Growing up in a multicultural family and environment significantly influenced his writing, which often explores themes of identity, heritage, and the immigrant experience.
Eugenides attended the University Liggett School in Grosse Pointe before pursuing his undergraduate degree in English at Brown University, where he studied under the renowned author John Hawkes. After graduating from Brown, he took a year off to travel in Europe and volunteer in Calcutta, India with Mother Teresa. He then earned his M.A in creative writing from Stanford University. His exceptional writing skills were recognized early in his career when he received the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowship in 1986 for his story "Here Comes Winston, Full of the Holy Spirit."
Eugenides's work has gained considerable recognition and praise. His debut novel, "The Virgin Suicides," published in 1993, garnered significant attention and was later adapted into a successful film directed by Sofia Coppola. His writing continued to captivate readers with his 2002 novel, "Middlesex," which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Ambassador Book Award. "Middlesex" explores the Greek-American immigrant experience in the United States, focusing on the rise and fall of Detroit and the experiences of the intersexed in the USA.
In addition to his novels, Eugenides has published several short stories and served as the editor of the collection "My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead." He is also a dedicated educator, joining the faculty of Princeton University's Program in Creative Writing in 2007. Despite his success, Eugenides remains somewhat private, occasionally sharing personal anecdotes about his Detroit upbringing and high-school experiences during book signings. He currently resides in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter.