Cynthia Ozick

Cynthia Ozick has won widespread acclaim for her novels and short stories depicting the Jewish-American experience and for her memorable, nuanced female characters. Ozick studied at a boy’s heder, gaining an early love of Yiddish and of Jewish culture that would infuse her work. She went on to Ohio State University, discovering a passion for Henry James, whose writing deeply influenced her own. Her first published novel, Trust, appeared in 1966, followed by five more novels, fourteen collections of short stories and essays, and two plays. She has received the highest honors in the literary world for her powerful and challenging prose: three O. Henry prizes, fellowships from Guggenheim and the National Endowment for the Arts, two PEN awards, and a National Book Critics Circle Award.