Fiction Author biography playbook
The work, the recognitions, the next book.
What the reader is hiring this bio to do
An author bio is read by readers deciding whether to start the book, by reviewers deciding what frame to use, and by reading-series hosts deciding whom to invite. It needs to do three different jobs in under one hundred words.
Credibility signals to include
- Titles, publishers, and publication years of your books.
- Awards judged by literary peers (PEN, Booker, NBCC, Whiting, NEA).
- Magazines and journals you have appeared in.
- Notable residencies and fellowships.
- MFA program, if relevant; omit if not.
Avoid in this industry
- 'Critically acclaimed' as a self-descriptor.
- Listing every workshop you have attended.
- Vague claims of 'multiple awards' without naming them.
- Writing the bio in first person on a book jacket — convention is third person.
Structure
Preferred structure for the bio
A reliable order that performs in this field. Adjust to the venue.
- 1Name; one sentence on the body of work.
- 2Most recent or forthcoming book with title and publisher.
- 3Notable recognitions, named.
- 4Other relevant context: residencies, journals, teaching.
- 5Geographical sentence and where readers can find you.
Tone
How this industry's bios should sound
Literary register. Restrained. Adjectives chosen with care. Read aloud — if the bio sounds like a back-cover blurb writing about the author, soften it.
Lengths
Recommended lengths by venue
Openings
Opening formulas that work in this field
Open with the title and publisher of the most recent book.
Han Park is the author of The Long Year (Riverhead, 2025) and the short-story collection Cold Sun (Graywolf, 2021).
Open with a one-line characterization of the work as a whole.
Han Park writes quiet, deliberate fiction about families across two continents.
Worked examples
One hundred words. Fifty words.
Han Park is the author of the novel The Long Year (Riverhead, 2025) and the short-story collection Cold Sun (Graywolf, 2021), a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her stories have appeared in The New Yorker, A Public Space, Zoetrope, and Tin House. She is the recipient of a 2024 Whiting Award and fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and Sewanee. Han teaches in the MFA program at the University of Iowa and lives in Iowa City with her family. She is at work on her second novel.
Han Park is the author of The Long Year (Riverhead, 2025) and Cold Sun (Graywolf, 2021), a National Book Critics Circle finalist. Whiting Award 2024. MacDowell and Sewanee fellowships. Teaches in the Iowa MFA program. At work on a second novel.
Vocabulary
Words to reach for — and words to handle with care
Cross-references
Frameworks and voices this playbook pairs with
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