Lydia Peelle's first published short story, “Mule Killers,” won an O. Henry Award in 2006. Her stories have appeared in numerous publications and have also been awarded two Pushcart Prizes and have been twice featured in Best New American Voices. Her debut story collection, Reasons for and Advantages of Breathing, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice book, a finalist for the Orion Book Award, and received an honorable mention for the 2010 PEN/Hemingway Award. A 2009 National Book Foundation “5 under 35” honoree and a 2010 recipient of a Whiting Award, Peelle is a graduate of the MFA program at the University of Virginia, and has received fellowships from the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, the Corporation of Yaddo, the Ragdale Foundation, and the Ucross Foundation. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
