Daniel Stern

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Daniel Stern (1928–2007) was an American novelist and scholar. Raised in New York City, he was an accomplished cellist and promising composer before he began his writing career. After graduating from the High School of Music and Art in New York, he earned positions with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Symphony and played with renowned jazz musician Charlie Parker. He also served as the vice president of major media companies including Warner Bros. and CBS. In addition to publishing nine novels and three collections of short fiction, Stern also served as the editor of Hampton Shorts. As an author, Stern is celebrated for his explorations of post–World War II Jewish-American life; his novels’ formal experimentation; and, in the short-story genre, his innovation of the “twice-told tale.”

His writing won many awards throughout his career, including the International Prix du Souvenir from the Bergen Belsen Society and the French government; the Rosenthal Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters; two Pushcart Prizes; two O. Henry Awards; and the honor of publication in The Best American Short Stories. In addition to serving on the faculty of the University of Houston’s creative writing program, he taught at Wesleyan, Pace, New York, and Harvard Universities.