# Bennett Sims (author)

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For the bishop, see [Bennett Sims](/source/Bennett_Sims).

**Bennett Sims** is an American fiction writer. He has published the novel *A Questionable Shape* (2013) and the [short story collections](/source/Short_story_collections) *White Dialogues* and *Other Minds and Other Stories*. He is an [assistant professor](/source/Assistant_professor) at the [University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa).

## Early life and education

Sims was born and raised in [Baton Rouge, Louisiana](/source/Baton_Rouge,_Louisiana).[1][2] During high school, he spent three summers at the [New Orleans Center for Creative Arts](/source/New_Orleans_Center_for_Creative_Arts)' boarding program, where he wrote fiction.[3] In 2008, he graduated from [Pomona College](/source/Pomona_College), where he was mentored by [David Foster Wallace](/source/David_Foster_Wallace).[3] He later graduated from the [Iowa Writers' Workshop](/source/Iowa_Writers'_Workshop), where he was a [Truman Capote Fellow](/source/Truman_Capote_Literary_Trust),[4] and he served as a Provost's Postgraduate Visiting Writer at the [University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa) in 2012-2013.[5]

## Career

Sims's [debut novel](/source/Debut_novel), *A Questionable Shape*, was published by [Two Dollar Radio](/source/Two_Dollar_Radio) on May 1, 2013.[6] It won the 2014 Bard Fiction Prize, which included $30,000 and a semester-long writer-in-residence appointment at [Bard College](/source/Bard_College).[7]

Many reviews called the book a novel with [zombies](/source/Zombie) that is not a zombie novel.[8][9][10] It is set in Louisiana and opaquely references the aftermath of [Hurricane Katrina](/source/Hurricane_Katrina).[11][12] It received generally favorable reviews from media outlets, including *[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)*,[9] *[Electric Literature](/source/Electric_Literature)*,[13] the *[Los Angeles Review of Books](/source/Los_Angeles_Review_of_Books)*,[12] and *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly).*[14]

In 2017, Sims published his second book, the [short story collection](/source/Short_story_collection) *White Dialogues*, with [Two Dollar Radio](/source/Two_Dollar_Radio).[15] It received favorable reviews from *[Publishers Weekly](/source/Publishers_Weekly)*,[16] *[Kirkus Reviews](/source/Kirkus_Reviews)*,[17] and *[Bookforum](/source/Bookforum).*[18] Sims was a [Rome Prize Fellow](/source/Rome_Prize) at the [American Academy in Rome](/source/American_Academy_in_Rome) in 2018-2019, where he worked on another novel.[19]

Sims's stories have been published in *[The Iowa Review](/source/The_Iowa_Review)*,[20] [*Story*](/source/Story_(magazine)),[21] *[Conjunctions](/source/Conjunctions_(journal))*,[22] *[Ploughshares](/source/Ploughshares)*,[23] and the [Pushcart Prize](/source/Pushcart_Prize) Anthology.[24]

*Other Minds and Other Stories* was a finalist for [The Story Prize](/source/The_Story_Prize).[25]

Sims teaches undergraduate fiction courses at the [University of Iowa](/source/University_of_Iowa).[26]

## References

1. ["Bennett Sims"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220120114025/https://oneworld-publications.com/bennett-sims.html). *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*. April 2, 2022. Archived from [the original](https://oneworld-publications.com/bennett-sims.html) on January 20, 2022. Retrieved April 2, 2022.

1. Weesam (April 2, 2022). ["Bennett Sims"](https://www.worldswithoutend.com/author.asp?ID=8293). *Worlds Without End*. Retrieved April 2, 2022.

1. Loeb, Eryn (2013-05-01). ["First: Bennett Sims's A Questionable Shape"](https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=LitRC&sw=w&issn=08916136&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA337072986&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs). *Poets & Writers Magazine*. **41** (3): 75–80.

1. ["Bennett Sims"](https://web.archive.org/web/20220120114025/https://oneworld-publications.com/bennett-sims.html). *UK*. Archived from [the original](https://oneworld-publications.com/bennett-sims.html) on 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["Past Provost's Postgraduate Visiting Writers and Fellows | English | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | The University of Iowa"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170812135437/https://english.uiowa.edu/people/postgraduate-visiting-writers/past-provosts-postgraduate-visiting-writers-and-fellows). *english.uiowa.edu*. Archived from [the original](https://english.uiowa.edu/people/postgraduate-visiting-writers/past-provosts-postgraduate-visiting-writers-and-fellows) on 2017-08-12. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["A Questionable Shape"](https://twodollarradio.com/products/a-questionable-shape). *Two Dollar Radio*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. Relations, Bard Public. ["Annual Bard Fiction Prize Is Awarded To Bennett Sims | Bard College Public Relations"](https://www.bard.edu/news/releases/pr/fstory.php?id=2483). *www.bard.edu*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["Review: A Questionable Shape, by Bennett Sims"](https://electricliterature.com/review-a-questionable-shape-by-bennett-sims/). *Electric Literature*. 2013-06-03. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["A Questionable Shape by Bennett Sims review – Zombies in Louisiana"](http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/jul/11/a-questionable-shape-bennett-sims-review-zombies-louisiana). *the Guardian*. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. Goldman, Nathan. ["A Zombie Novel Without Zombies: An Interview with Bennett Sims | The American Reader"](http://theamericanreader.com/a-zombie-novel-without-zombies-an-interview-with-bennett-sims/). *The American Reader*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. Full Stop. ["Bennett Sims"](http://www.full-stop.net/2013/06/18/interviews/meredith-turits/bennett-sims/). Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["Los Angeles Review of Books"](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/the-thinking-mans-zombie/). *Los Angeles Review of Books*. 2013-07-28. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["A Questionable Shape"](https://electricliterature.com/a-questionable-shape-bennett-sims/). *Electric Literature*. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["A Questionable Shape by Bennett Sims"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781937512095). *www.publishersweekly.com*. 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["White Dialogues"](https://twodollarradio.com/products/white-dialogues). *Two Dollar Radio*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["White Dialogues by Bennett Sims"](https://www.publishersweekly.com/9781937512637). *Publishers Weekly*. 2017-10-01. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. [*WHITE DIALOGUES | Kirkus Reviews*](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bennett-sims/white-dialogues/)

1. ["Top Shelf"](https://www.bookforum.com/print/2504/writers-choose-the-best-books-of-the-year-20369). *Bookforum*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. Rome, American Academy in (20 February 2019). ["Bennett Sims"](https://www.aarome.org/people/rome-prize-fellows/bennett-sims). *American Academy in Rome*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. SIMS, BENNETT (2014). "City of Wolfmen". *The Iowa Review*. **44** (3): 3–6. [doi:10.17077/0021-065X.7506](https://doi.org/10.17077/0021-065X.7506). [ISSN 0021-065X](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0021-065X). [JSTOR 43999703](https://www.jstor.org/stable/43999703)

1. Haas, Katy (15 December 2015). ["Story - 2015"](https://www.newpages.com/item/31603-story-2015-12). *www.newpages.com*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["A Nightmare, by Bennett Sims"](http://www.conjunctions.com/print/article/bennett-sims-c72). *Conjunctions*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. Sims, Bennett (2018). "Pecking Order". *Ploughshares*. **44** (1): 174–183. [doi:10.1353/plo.2018.0034](https://doi.org/10.1353/plo.2018.0034). [S2CID 201780413](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:201780413)

1. ["Sims; Bennett – Story"](https://www.storymagazine.org/our-authors/bennett-sims/). *www.storymagazine.org*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

1. ["Here are this year's finalists for The Story Prize."](https://lithub.com/here-are-this-years-finalists-for-the-story-prize-4//). LitHub. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

1. ["Bennett Sims | English | College of Liberal Arts and Sciences | The University of Iowa"](https://english.uiowa.edu/people/bennett-sims). *english.uiowa.edu*. Retrieved 2022-04-02.

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