Shirley Jackson

Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1916. The daughter of a middle-class couple she moved to Rochester, New York as a teenager and received her bachelor's degree from Syracuse University. While working on the school newspaper, Jackson met her husband, Stanley Edgar Hyman.
After graduating, the two were married. The moved to Vermont where they raised four children.

Jackson began publishing books in the early 50's, with her novel Hangsaman in 1951. However, she was best known for her short story, "The Lottery" which received much controversy from readers.

During the 1950's, Jackson was an extremely prolific writer, releasing many short story collections and becoming quite a popular and well-known author.

In 1959, she released a novel titled, "The Haunting of Hill House" which has since been adapted into many different movies and remains one of the most widely known and highly praised ghost stories of all time. In addition to her novels and short stories, Jackson also wrote several autobiographical novels and one children's novel, 'Nine Magic Wishes' which was illustrated by her grandson.Jackson won many awards in her lifetime including the O. Henry Prize Stories award in 1949 and the Best American Short Stories award 4 separate times in 1944, 1951, 1956 and 1964.

Jackson won many awards in her lifetime including the O. Henry Prize Stories award in 1949 and the Best American Short Stories award 4 separate times in 1944, 1951, 1956 and 1964.Jackson suffered from ill health for most of her life which were exacerbated by her constant smoking.

Jackson suffered from ill health for most of her life which were exacerbated by her constant smoking. She died in her sleep of heart failure in 1965 at the age of 48. 42 years later, in the year 2007, the Shirley Jackson Awards were established in her honor. They are awarded for outstanding achievements in the literature of horror and dark stories.