Amor Towles

Amor Towles (born 1964) is an American novelist. He is best known for his bestselling novels Rules of Civility (2011),[1] A Gentleman in Moscow (2016),[2] and The Lincoln Highway (2021).[3]

Amor Towles
Towles in 2018
Born1964
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
OccupationNovelist
EducationYale University (B.A.)
Stanford University (M.A.)
Period2011–present
GenreLiterary fiction
Notable worksA Gentleman in Moscow
Website
www.amortowles.com

Early life and education

Towles was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from Yale College and received an M.A. in English from Stanford University, where he was a Scowcroft Fellow. When Towles was 10 years old, he threw a bottle with a message into the Atlantic Ocean. Several weeks later, he received a letter from Harrison Salisbury, who was then the managing editor of The New York Times. Towles and Salisbury corresponded for many years afterward.[4]

Career

After graduating from Yale University, Towles was set to teach in China on a two-year fellowship from the Yale China Association. However, this was abruptly canceled due to the Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989.[5]

From 1991–2012, he worked as an investment banker and director of research at Select Equity Group in New York.[6][7]

When Towles was a younger man, he credited Peter Matthiessen, renowned nature writer, novelist and one of the founders of The Paris Review, as the primary inspiration for writing novels.[8] Towles' first novel, Rules of Civility, was successful beyond his expectations, so much so that the proceeds from the book afforded him the luxury of retirement from investment banking and the opportunity to pursue writing full-time.[9] His second novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, was a finalist for the 2016 Kirkus Prize for Fiction.[10] It was also longlisted for the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award.[11] Towles' third novel, The Lincoln Highway, was published on October 5, 2021.[12]

Personal life

Towles resides in Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City, with his wife, Maggie, their son, Stokley, and their daughter, Esmé.[13] Towles is a collector of fine art and antiques.[13]

Awards and honors

Works

Fiction
  • Rules of Civility: A Novel. New York: Viking. 2011. ISBN 978-0-670-02269-4.
  • Eve in Hollywood: A Penguin Special (collection of six-interlinked short stories). Penguin. 2013. ISBN 978-1-101-63092-1.
  • A Gentleman in Moscow: A Novel. New York: Viking. 2016. ISBN 978-0-670-02619-7.
  • You Have Arrived at Your Destination (novella). Forward. Vol. 4. Amazon Original Stories. 2019. ASIN B07VBCYTGR.[14]
  • The Lincoln Highway: A Novel. New York: Viking. 2021. ISBN 978-0-7352-2235-9.

Essays
  • "Channel a More Romantic Era of Transatlantic Travel" (2016)[15]

References
  1. Groskop, Viv (2011-07-15). "Rules of Civility by Amor Towles – review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  2. Taylor, Craig (2016-09-23). "A Count Becomes a Waiter in a Novel of Soviet Supremacy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  3. Bachelder, Chris (October 5, 2021). "Amor Towles's New Novel Takes You on an American Road Trip". The New York Times. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  4. Powell, Dannye (2016-09-23). "Five things about novelist Amor Towles". The Charlotte Observer.
  5. Kaufman, Joanne (2016-06-01). "Amor Towles, a Gentleman in Gramercy Park". The New York Times.
  6. "Amor Towles". Goodreads. Retrieved 2016-10-12.
  7. Feldman, Lucy (2016-06-01). "Amor Towles Expands His Portfolio With 'A Gentleman in Moscow'". Wall Street Journal.
  8. Exchange, Oxford (2016-11-09). "An Exclusive Interview with Amor Towles". The Oxford Exchange.
  9. Powell, Dannye (2017-02-08). "Five Things about Novelist Amor Towles". The Charlotte Observer.
  10. "2016 Kirkus Prize". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved November 26, 2020.
  11. "2018 Printable Longlist". dublinliteraryaward.ie. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  12. "The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles: 9780735222359". Penguin Random House. Retrieved October 17, 2021.
  13. Kaufman, Joane (September 23, 2016). "Amor Towles, a Gentleman in Gramercy Park". The New York Times. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  14. "You Have Arrived at Your Destination". Fantastic Fiction. 2016-09-23.
  15. Towles, Amor (September 7, 2016) [September 2016]. "Channel a More Romantic Era of Transatlantic Travel". Conde Nast Traveler. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
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