Larry Watson is a highly acclaimed novelist from the United States, best known for his work in poetry, short stories, and adult fiction, including historical fiction. Watson was born in Rugby, North Dakota, in 1947 and grew up in Bismarck, where he received his early education in public schools. After graduating from Bismarck State College, he went on to earn his bachelor's and master's degrees in arts from the North Dakota University. He later achieved his PhD from the Utah University in the program of creative writing.
Watson gained significant recognition for his novel "Montana 1948," which won the Milkweed Prize and helped establish him as a prominent author. He has written several other successful standalone novels, many of which have gained widespread popularity. In 1967, Watson married his longtime girlfriend and high school lover, Susan Gibbons. Over the years, he has received numerous grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Watson's work has been published in ten foreign editions and has received several prizes and awards, including from Milkweed Press, Friends of American Writers, Mountain and Plains Booksellers Association, New York Public Library, Wisconsin Library Association, Critics' Choice, and The High Plains Book Award. "Montana 1948" was nominated for the first IMPAC Dublin international literary prize. Watson has also sold the movie rights to "Montana 1948" and "Justice," while "White Crosses" and "Orchard" have been optioned for film. His novel "Let Him Go" was adapted into a movie in 2020, starring Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Lesley Manville, Jeffrey Donovan, and Boo Boo Stewart.
Watson taught writing and literature at the University of Wisconsin/Stevens Point for 25 years before joining the faculty at Marquette University in 2003 as a Visiting Professor. He retired from Marquette in 2017 and currently lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with his wife, Susan. They have two daughters, Elly and Amy, and two grandchildren, Theodore and Abigail. Watson's latest novel, "The Lives of Edie Pritchard," was published by Algonquin Books in 2020.