I teach writing and literature, and I write some things.
Research Interests
Teaching and research interests include Fiction Writing, Contemporary Literature, American Romanticism, 20th Century American Literature, The Novel, Postmodernism, Existentialism, The Problem of Evil, Cults & New Religious Movements, Documentary Films, Screenplays
Biography
Matt Bondurant’s latest novel Oleander City was released nationwide June 14, 2022. His previous novels include The Night Swimmer, which was featured in the New York Times Book Review, Outside Magazine, and The Daily Beast, among others. His second novel The Wettest County in the World is an international bestseller, a New York Times Editor’s Pick, a San Francisco Chronicle Best 50 Books of the Year, and was made into a feature film (Lawless) starring Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman, and Guy Pearce. His first novel The Third Translation is an international bestseller, translated into 14 languages worldwide. He has published short stories in such journals as Glimmer Train, The New England Review, and Prairie Schooner, among others, and has written feature articles, and reviews for Outside, Newsweek, Texas Monthly, Huffington Post, and other media outlets. His non-fiction piece, “The Real Thing” was selected for the 2017 Best Food Writing Anthology. He has sold several original screenplays including development deals for one-hour dramatic television series with HBO/Cinemax and Warner Brothers Television. Matt has appeared on various media outlets including NPR, Radio France, The Discovery Channel, and MSNBC. He currently lives in Oxford, Mississippi where he serves as the Director of the MFA Program at the University of Mississippi. A former John Gardner Fellow in Fiction at Bread Loaf, Kingsbury Fellow at Florida State, and Walter E. Dakin Fellow at Sewanee, Matt has held residencies at Yaddo and the MacDowell Colony. He has appeared on various media outlets including NPR, Radio France, The Discovery Channel, and MSNBC. In the past Matt worked for the Associated Press National Broadcast Office in Washington DC, as an on-air announcer and producer at a local NPR station in Virginia, and as a Steward at the British Museum in London, England.
Novels: North Country (forthcoming, 2025)
Oleander City (2022)
The Night Swimmer (2012)
The Wettest County in the World/ Lawless (2008)
The Third Translation (2005)
Education
Ph.D. Creative Writing, Florida State University (2003)