Charles Baxter is an American author born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to John and Mary Barber (Eaton) Baxter. He graduated from Macalester College in Saint Paul. In 1974 he received his PhD in English from the University at Buffalo with a thesis on Djuna Barnes, Malcolm Lowry, and Nathanael West. He currently teaches at the University of Minnesota and in the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers.

Charles Baxter

Charles Baxter is the author of fourteen books, including the novels The Feast of Love, nominated for the National Book Award; First Light, Saul and Patsy, Shadow Play, The Soul Thief, and The Sun Collective; the story collections Believers, Gryphon, Harmony of the World, A Relative Stranger, There’s Something I Want You to Do, and Through the Safety Net; plus three nonfiction books, including his latest, Wonderlands: Essays on the Life of Literature. His stories have appeared in several anthologies, including The Best American Short Stories, The Pushcart Prize Anthology, and The O. Henry Prize Story Anthology. Charles has won the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story. He taught at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Minnesota. He lives in Minneapolis.