Andrew Sean Greer

Andrew Sean Greer was born in 1970 in Washington, D.C., and raised in the American suburbs. He studied at Brown University and the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and has since lived in San Francisco and Italy, the latter becoming a recurring backdrop in his fiction.

Greer is best known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel 'Less' (2017), a comic picaresque following a middling novelist on a global book tour. His earlier works include 'The Story of a Marriage' (2008), a meditation on love and deception in 1950s San Francisco, and 'The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells' (2013), a time-travel novel set in three eras. His fiction is marked by a tender, often melancholic humor, a preoccupation with time and aging, and a deep attention to the textures of gay life.

'Less' won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2018, a surprise victory that brought Greer widespread acclaim and a new readership. Earlier novels received strong critical notices but modest sales; 'The Story of a Marriage' was a New York Times Notable Book. Greer's reputation has grown steadily, with critics praising his elegant prose and emotional precision.

Greer is now a central figure in contemporary American fiction, particularly for his nuanced portrayal of gay middle age. 'Less' has become a touchstone for comic novels about literary life, and his work is frequently taught in creative writing programs. He continues to publish, with a sequel, 'Less Is Lost', appearing in 2022.