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Amy Butcher

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Amy Butcher in 2017

Amy Butcher is an American writer and essayist. Her memoir, Mothertrucker, was published from Amazon Publishing literary press Little A Books in 2022.[1] Her first book, Visiting Hours: A Memoir of Friendship and Murder, was published in 2015. In August 2019, Makeready Films announced a film adaptation of Mothertrucker will be produced and directed by Jill Soloway and will star Julianne Moore.[2] In February 2020, the Ohio State Arts Council awarded excerpts of Mothertrucker an Individual Excellence Award.[3] In February 2024, the Ohio State Arts Council awarded excerpts of her new book an Individual Excellence Award.[4]

Early life and education

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Butcher grew up outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[5] She received her BA from Gettysburg College[6] and her MFA from the University of Iowa's Nonfiction Writing Program.[7] She currently serves as an Associate Professor of English at Denison University.[8]

Career

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Writing

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Butcher's debut memoir, Visiting Hours: A Memoir of Friendship and Murder,[9] was published in April 2015 by Penguin-Random House imprint Blue Rider Press. It recounts her struggle to reconcile her friendship with her college friend Kevin Schaeffer, who violently murdered his girlfriend after a psychotic break.[10][11] The book was featured on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday with Rachel Martin,[12] WAMC's The Roundtable,[13] and Poets & Writers Magazine.[14] The New York Times Sunday Review of Books said that "at the heart of this story, beyond Butcher's search to understand the incomprehensible, lies our societal failure to recognize serious depression as the potentially fatal illness that it is..." and that "her research offers a tragic portrait of the turn of events that left one young woman dead and another forever changed."[15] The Los Angeles Review of Books says that the structuring and manipulation of sensitive yet pertinent information throughout "feels insensitive, not to say irresponsible, to manipulate the reader thus...Leaving out what she knows in order to build suspense prevents her from investigating themes that might have layered this work with meaning and texture...by the time a sense of self-awareness swells, in the epilogue, the reader isn’t sure the narrator can be trusted. That being so, she has failed herself and her reader as well."[16]

Butcher's March 2016 opinion piece, "Emoji Feminism",[17] published in The Times Sunday Review,[18] was cited by Google as the inspiration for thirteen new professional female-empowered emojis,[19][20][21] accepted in July 2016 by the Unicode Emoji Subcommittee and released in December 2016.[22] In August 2017, these emojis were nominated as Design of the Year by the Design Museum in London,[23] where they are on display alongside a hijab designed by Nike, Wolfgang Tillmans’ Remain Campaign for the Brexit referendum and items from Kanye West's clothing line, among other artifacts.[24]

Butcher's second book, Mothertrucker[25], was released by Little A Books in November 2021 and subsequently announced as an Amazon First Reads[26] selection and an Editor's Pick[27] in memoir. The book earned critical praise from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, CBS News, NPR’s All Sides Weekend, The Chicago Review of Books, The Oxford Review of Books, The Washington Independent Review of Books, Booklist, and others. Publishers Weekly wrote, "In this tender and gripping tale, essayist Butcher (Visiting Hours) recounts her unlikely adventure through Alaska with the country’s only female ice trucker, the late Joy “Mothertrucker” Wiebe… Along the way, Butcher explores myriad issues with nuance and grace, including Indigenous rights, violence against women, religious hypocrisy, and environmental concerns. It’s a trip readers won’t soon forget."[28] Kirkus Reviews called the book "a searching and deeply empathetic memoir," writing, "[Mothertrucker is] a sobering reflection on verbal and psychological abuse [that] honors the healing power of female friendship and questions the nature of divinity beyond its constricting patriarchal manifestations."[29] The Wall Street Journal called Mothertrucker "a rattling good story" that is "shot through with poignant insights."[30] In September 2021, Butcher published a companion essay, "I Know All Too Well How A Lovely Relationship Can Descend Into Abuse," about the Gabby Petito murder, as a Guest Essay in the New York Times. In August 2019, Makeready Films announced they will be producing a film adaptation directed by Jill Soloway and starring Julianne Moore.[31] In February 2020, the Ohio Arts Council awarded excerpts of Mothertrucker an Individual Excellence Award,[32] calling the project "well researched," "very well-written," and "a positive antidote to the trauma of violence against women."[33]

Butcher's additional essays have been published in Granta,[34] The New York Times,[35] The Washington Post,[36] Harper's Magazine,[37] The Paris Review,[38] Literary Hub,[39] The Kenyon Review,[40] The Iowa Review,[41] The American Scholar,[42] Salon[43] and Guernica.[44] Her May 2018 essay, "Women These Days," was listed as a "Best of 2018" essay by Entropy Magazine[45] and nominated for a Pushcart Prize and for inclusion in the Best American Essays[46] series by the editors at Brevity Magazine. Her February 2018 Lit Hub essay "MIA: The Liberal Men We Love" was featured in Rebecca Traister's book[47] Good And Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger.[48] Her December 2018 essay, "Flight Path," was awarded grand prize in Sonora Reviews 2018 flash prose contest[49] as judged by Nicole Walker. Of the essay, Walker writes, "Referencing cultural touchstones as diverse W.H. Auden and Jeopardy, this piece stacks everything we thought we knew about Icarus and Daedalus and then piles more on. The images of the would-be immigrants tucked into the wheelhouses of airplanes makes those thick stories immediate. Too immediate and hard to hear, but necessary. The final stark image of not wax but metal becomes a hot, stark mirror."[50]

Additional essays have been anthologized in The Best Travel Writing 2016,[51] The Soul Of A Great Traveler,[52] Beautiful Flesh: A Body of Essays,[53] Writing True: The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction[54] and The Best Of Vela.[55] Her essays have also been awarded notable distinctions in the 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021 editions of the Best American Essays series.[56]

In February 2024, the Ohio Arts Council awarded excerpts of her new book an Individual Excellence Award.[4] Butcher said the portion of the book that was evaluated as part of the award consideration is “a story of human rights as they relate to women and girls, specifically.”[57]

Teaching

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Butcher has held teaching fellowships or visiting writer positions at the University of Iowa,[58] Colgate University,[59] Johns Hopkins University,[60] George Mason University,[61] Ohio State University,[62] Indiana University Purdue University of Indianapolis,[63] Old Dominion University,[64] Wells College,[65] Mount Mercy University,[66] Casper College's Annual Literary Conference,[67] the 49th Writers Tutka Bay Writers Retreat,[68] the Endless Arts in Eagles Mere Festival,[69] the Conversations and Connections Conference,[70] the Iowa Summer Writing Festival[71] and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Sitka, Alaska.[72]

Butcher has received grants and awards from Colgate University,[73] the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts,[74] and the Ohio State Arts Council.[75]

She currently serves as an Associate Professor of English at Denison University,[8] where she teaches creative writing, and formerly held positions as the Director of Creative Writing and an Associate Professor of English at Ohio Wesleyan University.[76] She spends her summers teaching writing at the Iowa Summer Writing Festival[77] in Iowa City, Iowa and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp[78] in Sitka, Alaska.

Awards and honors

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  • 2014 Iowa Review Award in Nonfiction[79]
  • 2015 Best American Essays Notable Essay[80]
  • 2016 Solas Award for best travel writing[81]
  • 2016 Best American Essays Notable Essay[82]
  • 2017 Best American Essays Notable Essay[83]
  • 2018 Best American Essays Notable Essay[84]
  • Nomination for Best American Essays 2019 by the editors of Brevity Magazine[85]
  • 2018 Pushcart Prize Nomination by the editors of Brevity Magazine[86]
  • 2018 Best Essays of 2018 by Entropy Magazine[87]
  • 2018 Sonora Review's Flash Prose Award[88]
  • 2018 The Sonora Review Flash Prose Contest judged by Nicole Walker[89]
  • 2020 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio State Arts Council[90]
  • 2021 Best American Essays Notable Essay[91]
  • 2024 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio State Arts Council[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Amy Butcher". Amy Butcher.
  2. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-08-28). "Jill Soloway, Julianne Moore Team For 'Mothertrucker' At Makeready". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  3. ^ "Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards Announced".
  4. ^ a b c "75 Individual Excellence Awards Approved for Ohio Artists". February 15, 2024.
  5. ^ G'Schwind, Stephanie (2017-05-15). Beautiful Flesh: A Body of Essays. University Press of Colorado. ISBN 9781885635587.
  6. ^ "Amy E. Butcher". Ohio Wesleyan University.
  7. ^ "Amy Butcher". Ohio Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  8. ^ a b "Amy Butcher | Faculty & Staff | Denison University". denison.edu. 2024-09-25. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  9. ^ Butcher, Amy (2015). Visiting Hours: A Memoir of Friendship and Murder. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9780698176904.
  10. ^ Blunt, Judy (July 15, 2015). "Memoirs". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  11. ^ Otte, Jeff (July 20, 2015). "Amy Butcher on Suicide, Psychosis and Her Memoir, Visiting Hours". Westword. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  12. ^ "Making Sense Of Murder In 'Visiting Hours'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  13. ^ Donahue, Joe. "Amy Butcher's Memoir Of Friendship And Murder". Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  14. ^ "Amy Butcher Recommends... | Poets & Writers". www.pw.org. 4 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  15. ^ Blunt, Judy (2015-07-15). "Memoirs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  16. ^ Arnold, Liz (20 May 2015). "Questionable Candor and PTSD". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved 2020-07-05.
  17. ^ Butcher, Amy (2016-03-11). "Emoji Feminism". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  18. ^ Butcher, Amy (March 11, 2016). "Emoji Feminism". Sunday Review. The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  19. ^ "Google designs emojis depicting professional women". BBC News. May 11, 2016. Retrieved October 13, 2016.
  20. ^ Readhead, Harry (May 13, 2016). "Google wants feminist emojis which depict women working (not dancing or getting married)". Metro. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  21. ^ Workman, Karen (May 12, 2016). "Emojis Would Show Women Doing More Than Painting Their Nails". The New York Times. Retrieved October 14, 2016.
  22. ^ "Apple iOS 10.2 Emoji List". emojipedia.org. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  23. ^ Knapton, Sarah (2017-08-16). "Google 'professional women' emoji nominated for Design of the Year". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  24. ^ "Designs of the Year". Design Museum. Fabrique & Q42. Retrieved 2017-11-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  25. ^ Butcher, Amy (2021-11-01). Mothertrucker: Finding Joy on the Loneliest Road in America. Little A.
  26. ^ "Our picks from this month's Amazon First Reads". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  27. ^ "Best Books of the Month: Biographies & Memoirs @ Amazon.com". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  28. ^ "Nonfiction Book Review: Mothertrucker: Finding Joy on the Loneliest Road in America by Amy Butcher. Little A, $24.95 (284p) ISBN 978-1-5420-1432-8". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  29. ^ MOTHERTRUCKER | Kirkus Reviews.
  30. ^ Carey, Richard Adams (2022-01-06). "'Mothertrucker' Review: Alaska Joy Ride". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  31. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (2019-08-28). "Jill Soloway, Julianne Moore Team For 'Mothertrucker' At Makeready". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
  32. ^ "Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards Announced".
  33. ^ "Ohio Wesleyan's Amy Butcher Earns 2020 Individual Excellence Award for Nonfiction Writing".
  34. ^ "Consolation Puppies". Granta Magazine. 2018-10-01. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  35. ^ Butcher, Amy (2014-11-06). "On the Road to 'the One,' Sometimes, a Rest Stop". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  36. ^ Butcher, Amy (2017-01-11). "What I learned from visiting the grave of my mom's teenage boyfriend". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  37. ^ Butcher, Amy (2017-03-08). "Bare Necessities". The Stream - Harper's Magazine Blog. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  38. ^ Butcher, Amy (4 December 2013). "All We Had – The Paris Review". www.theparisreview.org. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  39. ^ "MIA: The Liberal Men We Love". Literary Hub. 2018-02-27. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  40. ^ Butcher, Amy (2014-02-26). "In Conversation With Our Contemporaries". Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction. 16 (1): 139–142. doi:10.14321/fourthgenre.16.1.0139. ISSN 1544-1733. S2CID 107458139.
  41. ^ "Reenacting | The Iowa Review". iowareview.org. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  42. ^ "The American Scholar: Flight Behavior - Amy Butcher". theamericanscholar.org. 6 June 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  43. ^ Butcher, Amy (16 May 2013). "My friend, the murderer". Salon. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  44. ^ "Amy Butcher: Why It's Called A Life Sentence". Guernica. 2014-09-03. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  45. ^ Entropy. "Best of 2018: Best Online Articles & Essays". ENTROPY. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  46. ^ "Brevity's 2018 Pushcart and Best American Nominees". BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  47. ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - October 28, 2018 - The New York Times". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  48. ^ Traister, Rebecca (2018-10-02). Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women's Anger. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781501181801.
  49. ^ sonorareview (2018-12-08). "Announcing: The Fall 2018 Nonfiction & Flash Prose Contest Winners". Sonora Review. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  50. ^ sonorareview (2018-12-08). "Announcing: The Fall 2018 Nonfiction & Flash Prose Contest Winners". Sonora Review. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  51. ^ O'Reilly, James; Habegger, Larry; O'Reilly, Sean, eds. (2016-10-11). The Best Travel Writing, Volume 11: True Stories from Around the World. Travelers' Tales. ISBN 9781609521172.
  52. ^ O'Reilly, James; Habegger, Larry; O'Reilly, Sean, eds. (2017-09-19). The Soul of a Great Traveler: 10 Years of Solas Award-Winning Travel Stories. Travelers' Tales. ISBN 9781609521233.
  53. ^ G'Schwind, Stephanie, ed. (2017-05-15). Beautiful Flesh: A Body of Essays (1 ed.). Fort Collins, Colorado: Center for Literary Publishing. ISBN 9781885635570.
  54. ^ Perl, Sondra; Schwartz, Mimi (2013-02-26). Writing True: The Art and Craft of Creative Nonfiction (2 ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Publishing. ISBN 9781133307433.
  55. ^ Menkedick, Sarah; Beer, Molly; Giracca, Amanda; Gorrindo, Simone (2015-02-20). The Best of Vela. S.l.: lulu.com. ISBN 9781312706293.
  56. ^ "Amy E. Butcher". Ohio Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  57. ^ Gazette, Delaware (2024-02-22). "Butcher receives excellence award". Delaware Gazette. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  58. ^ "Our Alum | Department of English | College of Liberal Arts & Sciences | The University of Iowa". english.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  59. ^ "Olive B O'Connor Fellowship - Department of English". www.colgate.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  60. ^ "amyebutcher | EVENTSold". Amy Butcher: Essayist. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  61. ^ "Exploring Boundaries of Life and Loss – Fall for the Book Festival". fallforthebook.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  62. ^ Dispatch, Jeannie Nuss, The Columbus. "Friendship with killer inspired memoir 'Visiting Hours'". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-12-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  63. ^ "An Interview with Reiberg Series Visiting Writer Amy Butcher | Department of English". Department of English | School of Liberal Arts. 2023-04-05. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  64. ^ "Amy E. Butcher". Ohio Wesleyan University. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  65. ^ "amyebutcher | EVENTS". Amy Butcher: Essayist. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  66. ^ "MMU welcomes 'Visiting Hours' author Amy Butcher, April 11 | Mount Mercy University". www.mtmercy.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  67. ^ "36th Annual CC Literary Conference Nov. 16-17 – Casper College". 2022-11-11. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  68. ^ "Tutka Bay Writers Retreat – 2023". 49 Writers, Inc. Retrieved 2024-09-26.
  69. ^ "amyebutcher | EVENTS". Amy Butcher: Essayist. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  70. ^ "Amy Butcher". blog.pshares.org. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  71. ^ "Amy Butcher | Iowa Summer Writing Festival". www.iowasummerwritingfestival.org. Archived from the original on 2017-11-10. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  72. ^ "High School Camp | Sitka Fine Arts Camp". fineartscamp.org. Archived from the original on 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  73. ^ "Olive B O'Connor Fellowship - Department of English". www.colgate.edu. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  74. ^ "Amy Butcher | Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts, Nebraska City". www.khncenterforthearts.org. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  75. ^ "Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards Announced".
  76. ^ "Amy E. Butcher | Ohio Wesleyan University". www.owu.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  77. ^ "Amy Butcher | Iowa Summer Writing Festival". iowasummerwritingfestival.org. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  78. ^ "Faculty". SFAC. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  79. ^ "Iowa Review Award winners!". The Iowa Review. 2014-05-22. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  80. ^ Levy, Ariel; Atwan, Robert, eds. (2015-10-06). The Best American Essays 2015 (1 ed.). Mariner Books. ISBN 9780544569621.
  81. ^ "Best Travel Writing". www.besttravelwriting.com. Retrieved 2016-12-14.
  82. ^ Franzen, Jonathan; Atwan, Robert, eds. (2016-10-04). The Best American Essays 2016 (2016 ed.). Boston: Mariner Books. ISBN 9780544812109.
  83. ^ Jamison, Leslie; Atwan, Robert, eds. (2017-10-03). The Best American Essays 2017. Mariner Books. ISBN 9780544817333.
  84. ^ Als, Hilton; Atwan, Robert (2 October 2018). Best American Essays 2018. ISBN 978-0544817340.
  85. ^ "Brevity's 2018 Pushcart and Best American Nominees". BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  86. ^ "Brevity's 2018 Pushcart and Best American Nominees". BREVITY's Nonfiction Blog. 2018-11-12. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  87. ^ Entropy. "Best of 2018: Best Online Articles & Essays". ENTROPY. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  88. ^ sonorareview (2018-12-08). "Announcing: The Fall 2018 Nonfiction & Flash Prose Contest Winners". Sonora Review. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  89. ^ "Announcing: The Fall 2018 Nonfiction & Flash Prose Contest Winners".
  90. ^ "Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards Announced".
  91. ^ Schulz, Kathryn; Atwan, Robert (2021-10-12). The Best American Essays 2021. Mariner Books. ISBN 978-0-358-38175-4.
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