Ben Shattuck

Ben Shattuck is an American writer, Painting, and curator who is married to the Actor Jenny Slate. His memoir Six Walks from Tin House was named an editor's pick by The Rumpus and "must-read book" by Town & Country (magazine). For his Short story, he won a PEN/Robert J. Dau Short Story Prize from PEN America, a Pushcart Prize, and a Bread Loaf scholarship. His short story set in World War I "The History of Sound" is being turned into a feature film by Oliver Hermanus starring Paul Mescal and Josh O'Connor. 
== Early life and education ==
Shattuck was born and raised in Massachusetts and lived right next to the sea. His parents, who originally met in New York, both work in the arts in Massachusetts; his mother, Dedee, owns an art gallery, while his father, Bill, is a painter. Shattuck attended Deerfield Academy for high school, Cornell University for college, and the Iowa Writers' Workshop for his Master of Fine Arts in fiction. He taught fiction writing while at the University of Iowa as a graduate teaching assistant, and then at Victoria University of Wellington. 
== Career ==
Shattuck's first book Six Walks received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, a positive review from Kirkus Reviews, and praise from Bill McKibben, Nick Offerman, Hernan Diaz (writer), Karen Thompson Walker, and Nathaniel Philbrick. The memoir tracks the author's retracing of six walks taken by Henry David Thoreau, which brings about personal memories and emotional insights. 
He currently serves as the director and curator of Dedee Shattuck Gallery, which is owned by and named after his mother. He also continues to paint, exhibiting in galleries including the Sloane Merrill Gallery in Boston and the Greylock Gallery in Willamstown. Shattuck has a brother named Will and in 2021, they bought the general store in their hometown, which was originally built in 1793. 
Short stories and essays by Shattuck have been published in The Rumpus, The New Republic, The Paris Review Daily, Salon.com, McSweeney's, and Literary Hub. His reported essay "There Once Was a Dildo in Nantucket" was Literary Hub's fifth most read story in 2015. His 2016 short story from Harvard Review, “Edwin Chase of Nantucket," won an award for debut authors from PEN America. In an interview with Catapult, Shattuck said he started the story in 2013. It was his first published short story. His 2018 story "The History of Sound" from The Common (magazine) was published in the Pushcart Prize anthology, and is being adapted to film and distributed through End Cue, Embankment Films, and Film4 Productions. In 2021, Oliver Hermanus said of his decision to adapt the story and direct the film: “I instantly fell in love with Ben Shattuck’s flawlessly beautiful short story and knew I had to be involved in its journey to the screen." When the casting was revealed as two romantic leads played by Emmy Awards Josh O'Connor and British Academy of Film and Television Arts winner Paul Mescal, there was controversy about whether two straight actors should play gay characters. Filming for the movie is schedule for summer 2022 in the United States, United Kingdom, and Italy. 
His second book, a short story collection with the same title, The History of Sound, is set in New England across multiple centuries and will be published with an imprint of Viking Press. 
== Personal life ==
In 2019, Shattuck's girlfriend Jenny Slate revealed that they were living together in Massachusetts, where she was also born and raised. They two got engaged after Shattuck proposed during a picnic at a French castle later that year. Their daughter Ida Lupine Shattuck was born in late 2020. Their wedding was postponed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and they married in their living room on December 31, 2021. 
Shattuck knows how to play the banjo, and he goes birdwatching. He lost the tip of his finger on his dominant left hand while crossing ice carrying a boat. He has invited a paranormal team into a family home and written about the experience.
Category:1984 births
Category:American writers
Category:American painters
Category:American curators