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"These are the type of artists I anticipate working with in the future, and I believe I'm now one step closer to fulfilling my goal of having a professional career doing something I love."
- Chris Rogerson |
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 Featured Alumni
April 2010 Alumni Spotlight
Samuel Lipsyte, 1986 YoungArts Winner in Writing and Presidential Scholar in the Arts
In 1986 Samuel Lipsyte was honored as a Presidential Scholar in the Arts for his exceptional talents in writing and twenty three years later he has an array of accolades to prove it!
His first novel Venus Drive (2000) was named one of the 25 Best Books of 2000 by The Village Voice Literary Supplement. He is also the author of The Subject Steve and Homeland, which was named a New York Times Notable Book for 2005 and winner of the Believer Book Award. Furthermore, his fourth novel The Ask was just published in February 2010.
Lipsyte’s work, characterized by its verbal acumen and black humor, is read throughout the world as it has been translated into several languages, including French, Russian, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Quarterly, Harper's, Noon, Tin House, Open City, N+1, Slate, McSweeney's, Esquire, GQ, Bookforum, The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and La Nouvelle Revue Francaise
In 2008 Lipsyte won a Guggenheim Fellowship. He currently lives in Manhattan and teaches fiction at Columbia University.
Click here to watch Sam Lipsyte read excerpts from his third novel The Ask:
Questions answered by Sam:
What role would you say YoungArts played in your decision to pursue a career in Music?
It was a tremendous boost, and gave me confidence to do what artists in general must do, namely take a big gamble on yourself.
What book are you reading now and why? (Would you recommend it)?
I just read a novel by Ben Marcus called The Flame Alphabet. It won't be published until next year, but when it is, people will gasp at its amazements.
Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Nothing, really, except the writing part. Thomas Mann said it best: "A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people."
Do you have any advice for other aspiring authors/ writers?
Yes, read everything you can and revise, revise. If somebody says you are being weird and obsessive about your writing, you are on the right track.
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