John Holman

Georgia Connections

• Atlanta, Fulton County

Notes of Interest

John Holman is a novelist, short story writer and essayist who is a long-time teacher at Georgia State University in Atlanta whose novel "Luminous Mysteries" has been chosen by the Georgia Center for the Book for inclusion on the 2010 list of "25 Books All Georgians Should Read."

John Holman was born in 1951 in Durham, NC, and grew up there. He received a B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill in 1973, his M.A. in English from North Carolina Central University in 1977 and his PhD in English and creative writing from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1983 where he studied with the writer Frederick Barthelme. He taught at several institutions uincluding North Carolina Central. St. Augustine's College and the University of South Florida. He has been on the faculty at Georgia State University for more than 15 years and currently teaches writing and directs the Creative Writing Program there.

His first book, "Squabble and Other Stories," a collection of 11 stories, was published to critical acclaim in 1990. The stories generally focus on African Americans who are struggling to fit into society in the New South. His second book, the novel "Luminous Mysteries," was published in 1998. The novel shows the influence of Barthelme and Raymond Carver, with whom Holman also studied, and is a powerful and affecting story of a "disconnected" family seeking the right place in their community. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution called it "a magical debut novel." Holman also has published stories in many magazines and journals including The New Yorker, Oxford American, Paste and the Mississippi Review. He also is a recipient of the prestigious Whiting Writers Award.