William Faulkner (1897–1962)The New York Times (1962). was an American writer known for his Southern Gothic novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, based on his hometown of Oxford in Lafayette County, Mississippi.Aiken (1977), pp. 1–3.Watson (2019), pp. 1–2, 20. He is widely considered the preeminent writer of Southern literature and among the most significant figures in American literature.Levinger 2000."William Faulkner Facts". In 1949, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for "his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel"."Nobel Prize in Literature 1949".

In 1919, as a student at the University of Mississippi, Faulkner published his first work, the poem "L'Après-midi d'un Faune", in The New Republic.Fargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 461. While living in New Orleans in 1925, he published over a dozen short stories collectively known as the "New Orleans Sketches".Blotner (1974), pp. 140–141. Faulkner's first novels—Soldiers' Pay (1926) and Mosquitoes (1927)—were not successful, and his third, Flags in the Dust, was rejected by publishers before its publication as the abridged Sartoris (1929).Minter (1980), pp. 59–60, 81, 88, 90–91. Convinced that he "would never be published again", Faulkner wrote the experimental and deeply personal The Sound and the Fury.Minter (1980), pp. 102–104. Written in stream of consciousness, the novel was published in 1929 with few sales due to the onset of the Great Depression.Franklin (1967), p. 57.Minter (1980), pp. 105–106. It is now considered among his greatest works.Churchwell (2012).Minter (1980), p. 228.

Faulkner expanded on his stream of consciousness approach in As I Lay Dying, which is narrated by 15 characters bringing a mother to her grave in Yoknapatawpha.Franklin (1967), pp. 57, 63–65.Kerr (1962), pp. 5–6. Aspiring to create a commercial work, Faulkner wrote the sensationalist Sanctuary (1931).Minter (1980), pp. 107–109. Although its violence and sexuality were controversial, the novel was immensely successful and brought new attention to his previous works.Minter (1980), pp. 127–128. Subsequent novels in that decade—namely Light in August (1932) and Absalom, Absalom! (1936)—are regarded as among his best and have both been hailed as the "Great American Novel".Minter (1980), p. 228.Morgan (2012).Kirsch (2014). His 1940 novel The Hamlet launched the Snopes trilogy, completed by The Town (1957) and The Mansion (1959). Faulkner's 1954 novel A Fable, which follows a Christ-like corporal in World War I, won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.Blotner (1969). He published his 19th and final novel, The Reivers, in 1962, the year he died. The work garnered him a second Pulitzer posthumously.Bracker (1963).

Beyond his novels, Faulkner was a prolific short story writer. In addition to short story collections, two novels—The Unvanquished (1938) and Go Down, Moses (1942)—consist of interrelated short stories. In 1932, director Howard Hawks, impressed by his work, invited Faulkner to California to adapt his short story "Turn About" into the film Today We Live (1933).Kawin (1977), pp. 1–2. Until 1954, Faulkner split his time between Oxford and Hollywood, working as a screenwriter on some 50 film projects and becoming a frequent collaborator and close friend of Hawks.Hogue (1981), pp. 51–52.Kawin (1977), pp. 2–3. Some screenplay contributions, such as those to Gunga Din (1939), were uncredited, and many of his scripts were never produced. In addition to several speeches, book reviews, and book introductions, Faulkner also wrote essays on topics ranging from Albert Camus to Japan.

Prose fiction Novels

+ Year TitlePublisherNotes 1926Soldiers' PayBoni & LiverightFaulkner's debut novelFargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 483.1927MosquitoesBoni & LiverightSet on Lake Pontchartrain, features Faulkner himself in a cameoMinter (1980), p. 65.SartorisHarcourt, BraceAn abridged version of Flags in the Dust. The original manuscript was published posthumously by Random House in 1973.Meriwether (1977), p. 419.Jonathan Cape & Harrison SmithFirst appearance of the Compson family. Faulkner wrote an appendix to the novel, "Compson 1699–1945", for The Portable Faulkner (1946).Minter (1980), pp. 94–95, 208–209.1930As I Lay DyingJonathan Cape & Harrison Smith1931SanctuaryJonathan Cape & Harrison SmithFargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 468.1932Light in AugustHarrison Smith & Robert HaasBlotner (1974), p. 1 of Notes, Vol. 1.1935PylonHarrison Smith & Robert HaasNot set in Yoknapatawpha CountyMinter (1980), p. 146.1936Absalom, Absalom! Random HouseSecond novel featuring Quentin Compson, after The Sound and the FuryFargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 470.Ragan (1986), pp. 338–339.1938 Random HouseA collection of seven interrelated short stories, six of which are revisions of stories previously published in The Saturday Evening Post. "An Odor of Verbena" is original to The Unvanquished.Fargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 471.Minter (1980), pp. 145–146.1939The Wild Palms Random HouseTwo stories, not set in Yoknapatawpha County, intertwined in what Faulkner called "counterpoint" structure. His original title was If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem.Minter (1980), pp. 171.Jewkes (1961), pp. 39–40, 42–44.1940 Random HouseThe first book in Faulkner's Snopes trilogyRenner (1982), pp. 61–62.1942Go Down, Moses Random HouseConsisting of interrelated short stories about the McCaslin family, Faulkner regarded it as a novel.Minter (1980), pp. 186, 188.Fargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 472.1948Intruder in the Dust Random HouseShares characters like Gavin Stevens and Lucas Beauchamp with Go Down MosesMinter (1980), pp. 212.Meriwether (1977), p. 423.1951Requiem for a Nun Random HouseSequel to Sanctuary, written as a play with prose parts preceding each actMinter (1980), pp. 221–222.Fargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 474.1954 Random HouseNot set in Yoknapatawpha County, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award in 1955Fargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 475.Blotner (1969).1957 Random House The second book in the Snopes trilogyMeriwether (1977), pp. 425–426.Renner (1982), p. 62.1959 Random House The third book in the Snopes trilogyFargnoli, Golay & Hamblin (2008), p. 478.1962 Random House Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 19631973Flags in the Dust Random HouseOriginal manuscript of what became Sartoris, prior to extensive editingMeriwether (1977), pp. 427.

Short stories