Stacy Schiff is an accomplished American author and historian, best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies and historical works. Born in Adams, Massachusetts, Schiff has established herself as a leading figure in the world of literature and history. She has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Schiff's work has been widely recognized for its excellence and contribution to the field of history. Her biography of Véra Nabokov, titled "Véra (Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov)," won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000, while her book "Saint-Exupéry: A Biography" was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1995. "A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America" won several prestigious awards, including the George Washington Book Prize, the Ambassador Award in American Studies, and the Gilbert Chinard Prize of the Institut Français d'Amérique. All three of these books were New York Times Notable Books and were published in various foreign editions.
In addition to her Pulitzer Prize-winning biographies, Schiff has written several other notable works, including "The Witches: Salem, 1692" and "Cleopatra: A Life." The latter was a bestseller and appeared on most year-end best books lists, including the New York Times’s Top Ten Books of 2010. It was translated into 30 languages. Schiff's other accolades include being named a Library Lion by the New York Public Library, a Boston Public Library Literary Light, and receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award in History and Biography from the New England Historic Genealogical Society. She has also been awarded the 2019 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award and was named a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture. Schiff is a regular contributor to several prominent publications, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. She currently resides in New York City.