Oates, Joyce Carol (1938– )

US writer. Her novels are often aggressive, realistic descriptions of the forces of darkness and violence in modern culture. A prolific writer, she uses a wide range of genres and settings, including the comedy Unholy Loves (1979), the Gothic horror of A Bloodsmoor Romance (1982), and the thriller Kindred Passions (1987). Her other novels include A Garden of Earthly Delights (1967), Them (1969; winner of the National Book Award), Zombie (1996), The Tattooed Girl (2003), and The Falls (2004).

Her other novels include Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart (1990), Black Water (1992), My Heart Laid Bare (1998), Broke Heart Blues (1999), Blonde (2000), Beasts (2001), and I'll Take You There (2002). A prolific writer, she has published over 35 novels and novellas, including a series of experimental suspense novels under the pseudonym Rosamond Smith. Oates has also published over 20 volumes of short stories, seven volumes of poetry, four volumes of plays, and non-fiction works on a wide range of literary subjects.

Born in Lockport, New York, she also has written many short stories – notably, ‘Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?’ – poems, reviews, and critical essays. Her other works include Goddess and Other Women (1974), The Assassins (1975), Bellefleur (1980), Angel of Light (1981), Last Days (1984), Marya: A Life (1986), You Must Remember This (1987), The Assignation (1988), and American Appetites (1989).

She teaches in the English department at Princeton University, New Jersey. In 1996, she received the PEN/Malamud lifetime achievement award.