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Frank McCourt, acclaimed memoirist and Pulitzer Prize winner, was born in New York City and raised in Limerick, Ireland in the 1930's and 40's. At the age of nineteen, McCourt returned to the United States to seek a fortune and an education. After graduating from New York University's School of Education and supporting himself with several odd jobs, he found a brilliant career as a New York public high school teacher. In September 1996, after he had retired from teaching, McCourt's memoir of his childhood, Angela's Ashes, was published by Scribner. It quickly rose to the top of the hardcover bestseller lists, remaining on the New York Times list for 117 weeks. It was also selected as the number one nonfiction book of the year by Time and Newsweek magazines. |
Angela's Ashes won many awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics' Circle Award, The ABBY Award, The Los Angeles Times Book Award, and was chosen by many newspapers to be on their lists of Best Books of 1996. It also received Britain's Royal Society for Literature Award. With the release of the film version of Angela's Ashes, directed by Alan Parker and released by Paramount Pictures, the paperback edition also achieved bestseller status.
In September 1999, McCourt published the follow up to Angela's Ashes, titled 'Tis: A Memoir, which hit the New York Times bestseller list at number one as did the paperback edition. For a time 'Tis and Angela's Ashes were simultaneously at number one in hardcover and paperback respectively. The film, Angela's Ashes, based on the book was released in 1999. 'Tis received the New York Society Library Award and Italy's Riccardo Bacchelli Award.
November 2005 saw the publication of Teacher Man and its immediate jump to number one on the New York Times bestseller list.
McCourt's acclaimed musical revue, The Irish and How They Got That Way, ran for more than a year at the Irish Repertory Theatre in New York. And the two-man play A Couple of Blaguards, continues to be produced throughout the United States, Canada and Australia.
Frank McCourt frequently lectures, mainly at universities across the country. He is a contributing editor for the new LIFE magazine, a supplement in various newspapers and is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards. He is also collaborating with composer David Amram on a New York City-inspired Mass called Missa Manhattan. He lives with his wife Ellen and dog Rory, in Connecticut and New York City.