Editing Anne Lamott

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{short description|American novelist and nonfiction writer (born 1954)}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name = Anne Lamott
| image = Anne-Lamott-2013-San-Francisco (cropped).jpg
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|04|10}}
| birth_place = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], U.S.
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Novelist
* nonfiction writer
* essayist
* memoirist
}}
| alma_mater = [[Drew School]]<br>[[Goucher College]]
| period=
| genre= [[Drama]], [[humor]], [[literary fiction]], [[Reviews]]
| subject=
| movement=
| notableworks = 
| spouse=
| children = 
| relatives=
| influences= 
| first =
| last =
| authorlink =
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}}

'''Anne Lamott''' (born April 10, 1954) is an American novelist and nonfiction writer.

She is also a [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher. Lamott is based in [[Marin County, California]]. Her nonfiction works are largely autobiographical.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/15/anne-lamott-selling-fairfax-home-for-1-199m/|title=Author Anne Lamott selling Marin home for $1.199 million|date=July 15, 2017|work=The Mercury News|access-date=September 27, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> Lamott's writings, marked by their self-deprecating humor and openness, cover such subjects as [[alcoholism]], [[Single parent|single-motherhood]], [[Clinical depression|depression]], and [[Christianity]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/05/22/lamott_fight_son/ |last=Lamott |first=Anne |journal=Salon |title=My son, the stranger |date=May 22, 2006 |access-date=March 8, 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080513034405/http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2006/05/22/lamott_fight_son/| archive-date=May 13, 2008| url-status= live}}</ref>

==Early life and education==
Lamott was born in [[San Francisco]], and is a graduate of [[Drew School]]. She was a student at [[Goucher College]] for two years where she wrote for the newspaper.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Flanagan|first1=Mark|title=Anne Lamott|url=http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/authorprofiles/p/Anne-Lamott-biography.htm|website=About Entertainment|access-date=November 4, 2014|archive-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104174409/http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/authorprofiles/p/Anne-Lamott-biography.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her father, [[Kenneth Lamott]], was also a writer. Her first published novel ''Hard Laughter'' was written for him after his diagnosis of brain cancer. She has one son, Sam, who was born in August 1989 and a grandson, Jax, born in July 2009.<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/06/living/anne-lamott-boomer/index.html|last=Hetter|first=Katia|date=April 6, 2012|title=Anne Lamott's directions for grandparents: 'Some Assembly Required'|publisher=[[CNN]]|access-date=April 6, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2017/07/15/anne-lamott-selling-fairfax-home-for-1-199m/|title=Author Anne Lamott selling Marin home for $1.199 million|author=Brennan, Keri|website=MercuryNews.com|date=July 15, 2017 |publisher=Bay Area News Group|access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
Lamott's life was documented in [[Freida Lee Mock]]'s 1999 documentary ''Bird by Bird with Annie: A Film Portrait of Writer Anne Lamott''.<ref>{{cite video |people = Freida Lee Mock (Director) |date = August 1, 1999 |title = Bird by Bird with Annie |url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202259/ |medium = Documentary |publisher  = Vanguard International Cinema}}</ref> Because of the documentary and her following on Facebook and other online networks, she is often called the "People's Author".<ref name="PBSSmiley">{{cite news|url=https://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/201004/20100414.html|last=Smiley|first=Tavis|date=April 14, 2010|title=Interview with Anne Lamott|publisher=PBS|access-date=April 14, 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100416170741/http://www.pbs.org/kcet/tavissmiley/archive/201004/20100414.html| archive-date= April 16, 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

Lamott has described why she writes: <blockquote>I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families, secrets, wonder, craziness—and that can make me laugh. When I am reading a book like this, I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me, and throw the lights on a little, and I try to write these kinds of books. Books, for me, are medicine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://religion.beloblog.com/archives/2008/02/quote_of_the_day_60.html |work=Religion Blog |publisher=Dallas Morning News |date=2008-02-10 |title=Quote of the Day }}{{dead link|date=July 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref></blockquote> 

Lamott was featured on the second episode of the first season of the show ''[[The Midnight Gospel]]''.

===Awards and honors===
Lamott was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Anne Lamott - Fellow - 1985 - Fiction |work=John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation |access-date=April 22, 2015 |url=http://www.gf.org/fellows/8354-anne-lamott |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603224349/http://www.gf.org/fellows/8354-anne-lamott |archive-date=June 3, 2013 }}</ref> She was inducted into the [[California Hall of Fame]] in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tagg|first1=Mariel|title=2010 CA Hall of Fame, red carpet induction ceremony|url=http://sacramentopress.com/2010/12/08/2010-ca-hall-of-fame-red-carpet-induction-ceremony/|website=Sacramento Press|access-date=November 4, 2014|archive-date=November 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141104193842/http://sacramentopress.com/2010/12/08/2010-ca-hall-of-fame-red-carpet-induction-ceremony/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Personal life==
On April 13, 2019, Lamott married Neal Allen, 63, a former vice president for marketing at the [[McKesson Corporation]] in San Francisco. The couple met in August 2016. He is a twice-divorced father of four, who left his job at McKesson to devote himself to writing.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/fashion/weddings/the-final-chapters-of-anne-lamotts-life-now-include-a-soul-mate.html|title=The Writer Anne Lamott Gets to the Happily-Ever-After Part|first=Lois Smith|last=Brady|work=The New York Times |date=April 26, 2019|access-date=January 2, 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

===Novels===
*{{cite book
  | title =Hard Laughter
  | publisher =Viking Press
  | year =1980
  | isbn =0-670-36140-2
  | url =https://archive.org/details/hardlaughter00lamo
  }}
*{{cite book
  | title =Rosie
  | publisher =Viking Press
  | year = 1983
  | isbn=0-670-60828-9 }}
*{{cite book
  | title =Joe Jones
  | publisher =North Point Press
  | year = 1985
  | isbn=0-86547-209-2 }}
*{{cite book
  | title =All New People
  | url =https://archive.org/details/allnewpeoplenove0000lamo
  | url-access =registration
  | publisher =North Point Press
  | year = 1989
  | isbn=0-86547-394-3 }}
*{{cite book
  | title =Crooked Little Heart
  | publisher =Pantheon Books
  | year =1997
  | isbn =0-679-43521-2
  | url =https://archive.org/details/crookedlittlehe000lamo
  }}
*{{cite book
  | title =Blue Shoe
  | publisher =Riverhead Books
  | year =2002
  | isbn =1-57322-226-7
  | url =https://archive.org/details/blueshoe00lamo
  }}
*{{cite book
  | title =Imperfect Birds
  | publisher =Riverhead Books
  | year =2010
  | isbn =978-1-59448-751-4
  | url =https://archive.org/details/imperfectbirds00lamo
  }}

===Nonfiction===
*{{cite book | title = Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year | publisher = Pantheon Books | year = 1993 | isbn = 978-0-679-42091-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/operatinginstruc00lamo_0 }}
*{{cite book | title = Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life | publisher = Pantheon Books | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-679-43520-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/birdbybirdsomein00lamo }}
*{{cite book | title = Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith | publisher = Pantheon Books | year = 1999 | isbn = 978-0-679-44240-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/travelingmercie000lamo }}
*{{cite book | title = Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2005 | isbn = 978-1-57322-299-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/planbfurthertho000lamo }}
*{{cite book | title = Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith | url = https://archive.org/details/graceeventually00anne | url-access = registration | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2007 | isbn = 978-1-59448-942-6}}
*{{cite book | title = Some Assembly Required: A Journal of My Son's First Son | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-1-59448-841-2}} (with Sam Lamott)
*{{cite book | title = Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2012 | isbn = 978-1-59463-129-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/helpthankswowthr00anne }}
*{{cite book | title = Stitches: A Handbook on Meaning, Hope and Repair | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2013 | isbn = 978-1-59463-258-7}}
*{{cite book | title =Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace  | url =https://archive.org/details/smallvictoriessp0000lamo  | url-access =registration  | publisher =  Riverhead Books | year = 2014 | isbn = 978-1-59448-629-6}}
*{{cite book | title =Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2017 | isbn = 9780735213586}}
*{{cite book | title =Almost Everything: Notes on Hope | publisher = Riverhead Books | year = 2018 | isbn = 978-0525537441}}
* {{cite book | title=Dusk, Night, Dawn | publisher=Riverhead Books | year=2021 | isbn=978-0-593-18969-6}}
* {{cite book | title=Somehow: Thoughts on Love | publisher=Riverhead Books | year=2024 | isbn=978-0-593-71441-6}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*Bochynski, Pegge. (2010)  "Anne Lamott" in ''American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies, Supplement XX, Mary Antin to Phillis Wheatley.'' Ed. Jay Parini. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons p131-146.
*{{cite journal |author=Bouris, Karen |date=Jan–Feb 2013 |title=Anne Lamott : life as a black-belt codependent |department=Interview |journal=Spirituality & Health |volume=15 |issue=6 |pages=48–53 |url=http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/anne-lamott-life-black-belt-codependent <!--accessdate=2016-04-30--> |access-date=April 30, 2016 |archive-date=April 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420082723/http://spiritualityhealth.com/articles/anne-lamott-life-black-belt-codependent |url-status=dead }}
*[[Jane Vandenburgh|Vandenburgh, Jane]]. (2010) ''Architecture of the Novel: A Writer's Handbook''. Anne Lamott (Foreword). Berkeley, CA: Counterpoint {{ISBN|1582435979}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Library resources box|by=yes|viaf=100941893}}
*{{facebook|AnneLamott}}
*[https://www.salon.com/writer/anne_lamott ''Salon.com'': articles by Anne Lamott]
*[http://www.barclayagency.com/lamott.html Profile – Steven Barclay Agency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607202820/http://www.barclayagency.com/lamott.html |date=June 7, 2007 }}
*[http://writetv.okstate.edu/bestofWOL.html ''Write TV'' Public Television Interview (2004)]
*[http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/04/11/midmorning2/ Minnesota Public Radio Interview (2007)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120224123658/http://www.victorialautman.com/interviews/anne-lamott.shtml Interview for ''Writers on the Record'' (2007)]
*[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7113.Anne_Lamott/ ''Goodreads.com'': Author profile: Anne Lamott]
*[https://www.ted.com/talks/anne_lamott_12_truths_i_learned_from_life_and_writing ''TED.com'': "12 truths I learned from life and writing", a talk by Anne Lamott (2017)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamott, Anne}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American Christian pacifists]]
[[Category:American Christian writers]]
[[Category:American memoirists]]
[[Category:American women novelists]]
[[Category:Writers from San Rafael, California]]
[[Category:Writers from Baltimore]]
[[Category:Writers from San Francisco]]
<!--(Source: http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20138588,00.html)-->
[[Category:American spiritual writers]]
[[Category:American women memoirists]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:Activists from California]]
[[Category:Goucher College alumni]]
[[Category:Novelists from California]]
[[Category:Christians from California]]
[[Category:Writers from Marin County, California]]
[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Drew School alumni]]