Joe Meno (born 1974) is a novelist, writer of short fiction, playwright, and music journalist based in Chicago.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Selected bibliography 3 Plays 4 Awards 5 Sources 6 External links

[edit] Biography

After attending Columbia College Chicago, Meno spent time working as a flower delivery truck driver and art therapy teacher at a juvenile detention center. His first novel Tender as Hellfire was published when he was only 24 and received strong reviews from sources like Library Journal. His short fiction has appeared in literary magazines like Tri-Quarterly, Ninth Letter,Joyland: A hub for short fiction, and Other Voices. Meno's work is known for the use of natural language and realistic dialogue, as well as frequent forays into absurdity. He currently teaches fiction writing at Columbia College Chicago. He is a frequent contributor to Punk Planet magazine, where his comic strip Iceberg Town is featured.

[edit] Selected bibliography

• Tender as Hellfire. Akashic Books, 2007/St. Martin's Press, 1999.
• How the Hula Girl Sings. Akashic Books, 2005/ReganBooks, 2001.
• Hairstyles of the Damned. Akashic Books, 2004.
• Bluebirds Used to Croon the Choir: Stories. Northwestern University Press, 2005.
• The Boy Detective Fails. Akashic Books, 2006.
• Demons in the Spring. Akashic Books, 2008.
• The Great Perhaps. W. W. Norton, 2009.

[edit] Plays

• The Boy Detective Fails.
• Once Upon a Time or the Secret Language of Birds.

[edit] Awards

Nelson Algren Award, 2003 a prize for short fiction given by the Chicago Tribune.

Hairstyles of the Damned was selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program for its November 2004-January 2005 season.

Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir was selected as the winner of the Society of Midland Author's Award for Fiction 2005.

Demons in the Spring was a finalist for The Story Prize in 2009.

The Great Perhaps was a winner of the Great Lakes Book Award for Fiction in 2009 and a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice.

[edit] Sources

• Gale Online Literature Resource Center. Updated June, 2003.

[edit] External links

Wikinews has related news: 2007 Brooklyn Book Festival showcases borough's continued literary tradition

• JoeMeno.com
• Video: A message from Joe Meno about The Great Perhaps
• Author Profile on Akashic Books Online
• Interview on Bookslut.com
• Fogged Clarity's Interview with Joe Meno (June, 2009)
• Interview on Centerstage Chicago (October 2006)
• Works by or about Joe Meno in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

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