Lisa Alther was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, on July 30, 1944. She graduated from Wellesley College with a B.A. in English literature in 1966. She worked briefly at Atheneum publishers in New York before moving to Vermont. There she wrote for Garden Way, Inc., and taught Southern Fiction at St. Michael's College in Winooski.
Alther's first novel, Kinflicks, was published in 1976, followed by Original Sins; Other Women; Bedrock; and Five Minutes in Heaven. Her tragicomic novels, which feature feisty lesbian characters, have become international bestsellers and have been translated into several languages. She also wrote a novella, Birdman and the Dancer, based on a series of monotypes by Francoise Gilot.
Alther's reviews and articles have appeared in many periodicals, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, Natural History, Cosmopolitan, Yankee, and The Guardian.
Alther's novels are studied in university courses in English, Southern, and Appalachian literature, women's studies, and gay and lesbian studies.
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