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John Steinbeck

Overview

John Steinbeck is a 20th-century American writer primarily known for his realist novels, though he also published travelogues, wrote cultural criticism, and more.

Steinbeck was born in Salinas, California, and attended Stanford University for six years, though he never graduated. He began publishing novels in 1929, but did not find significant success until he began working with editor Pascal Covici, who became a lifelong confidant and friend. "The Grapes of Wrath," a novel about migrant workers based on his experiences reporting on the population for a newspaper, was a critical and commercial success, winning the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and inspiring a film adaptation starring Henry Fonda.

Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1962, making him one of a handful of Americans to do so. His novels "Of Mice and Men" and "The Grapes of Wrath" are now widely considered classics of American literature.

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