# Melissa Bank

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Melissa_Bank
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Melissa_Bank.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Bank
> Source revision: 1343890642
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|American author (1961–2022)}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [:Template:Infobox writer/doc](/source/%3ATemplate%3AInfobox_writer%2Fdoc) -->
| name             = Melissa Bank
| image            = Melissa_Bank.png
| caption          = Bank in 2006
| pseudonym        = 
| birth_name       = Melissa Susan Bank
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1960|10|11}}
| birth_place      = [Boston](/source/Boston), Massachusetts, U.S.
| death_date       = {{Death date and age|2022|08|02|1960|10|11}}
| death_place      = [East Hampton, New York](/source/East_Hampton_(village)%2C_New_York), U.S.
| occupation       = Novelist
| alma_mater       = {{ubl|[Hobart and William Smith Colleges](/source/Hobart_and_William_Smith_Colleges) ([BA](/source/Bachelor_of_Arts))|[Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) ([MFA](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts))}}
| notableworks     = ''[The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing](/source/The_Girls'_Guide_to_Hunting_and_Fishing)''
| partner          = Todd Dimston
| awards           = {{Plain list|
* [Nelson Algren Award](/source/Nelson_Algren_Award), 1993
* Bestseller List, UK
* Bestseller List, US
}}
| language         = American English
}}

'''Melissa Susan Bank''' (October 11, 1960 – August 2, 2022) was an American author.  She published two books—''The Wonder Spot'', a volume of short stories, and ''[The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing](/source/The_Girls'_Guide_to_Hunting_and_Fishing)''—and won the 1993 [Nelson Algren Award](/source/Nelson_Algren_Award) for short fiction. She taught at [Stony Brook University](/source/Stony_Brook_University).

==Early life and education==
Bank was born in [Boston](/source/Boston), on October 11, 1960.<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news|title=Melissa Bank, Author Whose 'Girls' Guide' Was a Phenomenon, Dies at 61|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/books/melissa-bank-dead.html|first=Clay|last=Risen|date=August 5, 2022|access-date=August 6, 2022|newspaper=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}</ref><ref name="WP obit">{{cite news |title=Melissa Bank, literary chronicler of love and loss, dies at 61|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/08/05/girls-guide-melissa-bank-dead/|first=Harrison|last=Smith|date=August 5, 2022|access-date=August 6, 2022|newspaper=[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)}}</ref>  Her father, Arnold, was a neurologist who died during his late fifties of leukemia, a condition he concealed for almost ten years;<ref name="WP obit"/><ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Hattenstone |first1=Simon |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/1999/jul/19/guardianfirstbookaward1999.gurardianfirstbookaward |title=A polished act {{!}} Guardian first book award 1999 |newspaper=The Guardian |date= July 19, 1999 |access-date= August 7, 2022}}</ref> her mother, Joan (Levine), worked as a teacher.<ref name="NYT obit"/>  Bank was raised in the [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) suburb of [Elkins Park, Pennsylvania](/source/Elkins_Park%2C_Pennsylvania).<ref name="WP obit"/>

In 1982, she graduated from [Hobart and William Smith Colleges](/source/Hobart_and_William_Smith_Colleges) with a [bachelor's degree](/source/bachelor's_degree) in [American studies](/source/American_studies).<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/22/garden/at-home-with-melissa-bank-so-familiar-so-private.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |title=AT HOME WITH: MELISSA BANK; So Familiar, So Private |author-link=Julie V. Iovine|last=Iovine|first=Julie V. |work=The New York Times |date=July 22, 1999 |accessdate=May 6, 2013}}</ref> She then worked in publishing in [New York City](/source/New_York_City), and obtained a [Master of Fine Arts](/source/Master_of_Fine_Arts) in creative writing from [Cornell University](/source/Cornell_University) in 1987.<ref name="Red Room" /><ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/>

==Career==
Bank published short stories and nonfiction in such publications as the ''[Chicago Tribune](/source/Chicago_Tribune)'', ''Ploughshares'', ''Zoetrope'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''Glamour'', and ''Seventeen'', as well as being broadcast on [National Public Radio](/source/National_Public_Radio) and the [BBC](/source/BBC).<ref name="Red Room" />  Her literary influences included [Vladimir Nabokov](/source/Vladimir_Nabokov), [John Cheever](/source/John_Cheever), [Billy Collins](/source/Billy_Collins), and [Grace Paley](/source/Grace_Paley).<ref name="Red Room">[http://www.redroom.com/author/melissa-bank/bio "Melissa Bank"], writer profile at RedRoom.com. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091103211803/http://www.redroom.com/author/melissa-bank/bio |date=November 3, 2009 }}. Accessed March 31, 2011.</ref>  She identified [Janet Malcolm](/source/Janet_Malcolm) as her favorite non-fiction writer.<ref name="Guardian" />  Bank was conferred the [Nelson Algren Literary Award](/source/Nelson_Algren_Literary_Award) in 1993 for her short story "Mr. Wilson and Dennis the Menace".<ref name="ALGREN AWARD 1993">{{cite news |last1=Blades |first1=John |title=ALGREN AWARD COMES JUST IN TIME |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-06-21-9306210169-story.html |access-date=August 7, 2022 |work=Chicago Tribune |date=June 21, 1993 |quote=...Melissa Bank already knows that she has a big winner with her short story "Mr. Wilson and Dennis the Menace."... she had won the top prize of $5,000 in the Nelson Algren Awards for Short Fiction....}}</ref>  

She also taught in the MFA program at [Stony Brook Southampton](/source/Stony_Brook_Southampton).<ref>{{cite web |title=Faculty & Staff |url=https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/southampton/mfa/cwl/people |website=Southampton Arts |publisher=[Stony Brook University](/source/Stony_Brook_University) |access-date=August 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804015232/https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/southampton/mfa/cwl/people |archive-date=August 4, 2022 |format=web.archive.org |quote=MELISSA BANK Novelist and Short Story Writer: Melissa Bank is the author of the best-selling story collections ''The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing'' and ''The Wonder Spot''. She received the Nelson Algren Award for short fiction from the ''Chicago Tribune'' and holds an M.F.A. from Cornell University. Her work has been translated into 33 languages.}}</ref>

===''The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing''===
Bank began writing [''The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing''](/source/The_Girls'_Guide_to_Hunting_and_Fishing) shortly after graduating from Cornell.  It ultimately took her twelve years to complete.<ref name="Guardian" />  During most of that time, Bank worked as a [copywriter](/source/copywriter), focusing on the novel in her spare time.<ref name="Guardian" />  She was involved in a serious bicycle accident where she was struck by a car in 1994,<ref name="NYT obit"/> approximately five years before the book was published.<ref name="WP obit"/>  She landed on her head, and even though she was wearing a helmet, she suffered [post-concussion syndrome](/source/post-concussion_syndrome) for almost two years.  This condition affected her short-term memory and deprived her of the "top 10 to 15% of [her] vocabulary"; she was unable to order information or perform sequential thinking. Bank had to stop writing the book during this period.<ref name="Guardian" />

Finally published in 1999, ''The Girls' Guide to Hunting And Fishing'' was a bestseller in both the United States and the United Kingdom, garnering mostly positive reviews. The novel has been translated into over 30 languages.<ref name="Red Room" />  The ''[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'' wrote, "Bank writes like [John Cheever](/source/John_Cheever), but funnier."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Salter Reynolds |first1=Susan |title=DISCOVERIES |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-18-bk-57115-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=July 18, 1999}}</ref>  ''[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)'' critic Yahlin Chang wrote, "Bank draws exquisite portraits of loneliness, and she can do it in a sentence."<ref>Chang, Yahlin. "A Hot Young Writer You Can Bank On," ''Newsweek'' (May 31, 1999).</ref><ref name=AP-obit />  Others placed Bank in the school of restraint exemplified by [Hemingway](/source/Hemingway) and [Raymond Carver](/source/Raymond_Carver).<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="Guardian"/> Stories from this popular book were later adapted into the 2007 [romantic comedy](/source/romantic_comedy) film ''[Suburban Girl](/source/Suburban_Girl)''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Scheib |first1=Ronnie |title=Suburban Girl |url=https://variety.com/2007/film/markets-festivals/suburban-girl-1200559365/ |website=Variety |access-date=August 7, 2022 |date=May 16, 2007}}</ref>

===Later works===
Bank published her second novel, ''The Wonder Spot'', in 2005.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/>  It took her five years to write the book,<ref name="WP obit"/> which did not fare as well as ''The Girls' Guide'' in terms of sales but was regarded by critics as the superior of the two works.<ref name="NYT obit"/>  She was writing a third book for [Viking Press](/source/Viking_Press) at the time of her death.<ref name="NYT obit"/>

==Personal life==
Bank was in a domestic partnership with Todd Dimston in the 18 years prior to her death.  She did not have children.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/>  She divided her time between New York City and [East Hampton](/source/East_Hampton_(village)%2C_New_York).<ref name="Guardian" /><ref name="Red Room" />  Bank was diagnosed with [breast cancer](/source/breast_cancer) in 1994, which she eventually recovered from.  She also suffered from [aphasia](/source/aphasia).<ref name="NYT obit"/>

Bank died on August 2, 2022, at her home in East Hampton.  She was 61, and suffered from [lung cancer](/source/lung_cancer) prior to her death.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/><ref name=AP-obit>{{cite news|title=Melissa Bank, witty, bestselling author, dies at 61|url=https://apnews.com/article/melissa-bank-dead-64d4ebd5ca02214e0d7df1bf5de329ad|date=August 4, 2022|access-date=August 7, 2022|work=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lapin |first1=Andrew |title=Bestselling Jewish author Melissa Bank dies at 61 |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/bestselling-jewish-author-melissa-bank-dies-at-61/ |access-date=August 7, 2022 |work=[The Times of Israel](/source/The_Times_of_Israel) |date=August 4, 2022 |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>

==Publications==
*''The Wonder Spot'' (2005) {{OCLC|56840790}} {{ISBN|0670034118}}<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/>
*''Run run run run run run run away'' (short story) – 2005<ref>{{cite news|title=Bank is Back with More Linked Stories|url=https://greensboro.com/bank-is-back-with-more-linked-stories/article_96ad193e-f8db-587c-a1e0-42ceeacf4591.html|first=Phoebe|last=Flowers|date=July 9, 2005|access-date=August 6, 2022|newspaper=[News & Record](/source/News_%26_Record)|location=Greensboro, North Carolina|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807070005/https://greensboro.com/bank-is-back-with-more-linked-stories/article_96ad193e-f8db-587c-a1e0-42ceeacf4591.html|archivedate=August 7, 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
*''The Worst Thing a Suburban Girl Could Imagine'' (short story) – 1999 {{ISBN|9780141022796}}
*''[The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing](/source/The_Girls'_Guide_to_Hunting_and_Fishing)'' (1999) {{OCLC|40159073}} {{ISBN|067088300X}}<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bank, Melissa}}
Category:1960 births
Category:2022 deaths
Category:20th-century American short story writers
Category:20th-century American women writers
Category:21st-century American novelists
Category:21st-century American short story writers
Category:21st-century American women novelists
Category:American chick lit writers
Category:American copywriters
Category:American women copywriters
Category:American women short story writers
Category:Cornell University alumni
Category:Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)
Category:Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni
Category:Novelists from Pennsylvania
Category:Writers from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Category:Stony Brook University faculty

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Melissa Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Bank) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissa_Bank?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.