Anne Lamott is an American novelist and non-fiction writer. She is the best-selling author of books like Bird by Bird, Hard Laughter, and Operating Instructions.
She has written at least 19 fiction and non-fiction books and numerous essays. A former alcoholic, Lamott writes on difficult topics like alcoholism, Christianity, depression, and motherhood, usually with self-deprecating humor.
Lamott was born on April 10, 1954 in San Francisco, California. Her father, Ken Lamott, was also a writer. She attended Drew School and Goucher College in Maryland.
She wrote her first book, Hard Laughter, in 1979 prompted by her father’s brain cancer diagnosis. In her words, the book was “a present to someone I loved who was going to die.”
Lamott was the subject of a 1999 documentary by Freida Lee Mock called Bird by Bird with Annie: A Film Portrait of Writer Anne Lamott. In 2010, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame.
Anne Lamott wrote her classic book on writing, Bird by Bird in 1994. If you are a budding writer, you will find it full of practical advice that you can use to learn how to write well.
Further Reading
Check out the articles below for quotes by Anne Lamott and other accomplished writers.
You may also enjoy biographies about Anais Nin, Margaret Atwood, Maya Angelou, Anne Frank, and Annie Dillard among many more. See more interesting biographies here.