Born June 16, 1938, in Lockport, NY; daughter of Frederic James (a tool and die designer) and Caroline Oates; married Raymond Joseph Smith, January 23, 1961 (deceased, 2008). Education: Syracuse University, B.A., 1960; University of Wisconsin, M.A., 1961. Memberships: PEN, American Academy of Arts and Letters, Phi Beta Kappa. Addresses: Office: Department of Creative Writing, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544. Agent: John Hawkins, 71 W. 23rd St., New York, NY 10010; (for plays) Peter Franklin, William Morris Agency, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. E-mail: jcsmith@princeton.edu.

NOVELS

• With Shuddering Fall, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1964.
• A Garden of Earthly Delights, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1967, revised edition, Random House (New York, NY), 2003.
• Expensive People, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1967, reprinted, Modern Library (New York, NY), 2006.
• them, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1969, reprinted with introduction by Greg Johnson and afterword by the author, Modern Library (New York, NY), 2000.
• Wonderland, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1971 , revised edition, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1992, reprinted, Modern Library (New York, NY), 2006.
• Do with Me What You Will, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1973.
• The Assassins: A Book of Hours, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1975.
• Triumph of the Spider Monkey: The First-Person Confession of the Maniac Bobby Gotteson as Told to Joyce Carol Oates (novella; also see below), Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1976.
• Childwold, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1976.
• Son of the Morning, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1978.
• Unholy Loves, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1979.
• Cybele, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1979.
• Bellefleur, Dutton (New York, NY), 1980.
• Angel of Light, Dutton (New York, NY), 1981.
• A Bloodsmoor Romance, Dutton (New York, NY), 1982.
• Mysteries of Winterthurn, Dutton (New York, NY), 1984.
• Solstice, Dutton (New York, NY), 1985, revised edition, Ontario Review Press (Princeton, NJ), 2000.
• Marya: A Life, Dutton (New York, NY), 1986.
• You Must Remember This, Dutton (New York, NY), 1987.
• American Appetites, Dutton (New York, NY), 1989.
• Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart, Dutton (New York, NY), 1990.
• I Lock My Door upon Myself, Ecco Press (New York, NY), 1990, revised edition, Ontario Review Press (Princeton, NJ), 2002.
• The Rise of Life on Earth, New Directions (New York, NY), 1991.
• Black Water, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.
• Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang, Dutton (New York, NY), 1993.
• What I Lived For, Dutton (New York, NY), 1994.
• Zombie, Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.
• Tenderness, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1996.
• We Were the Mulvaneys, Dutton (New York, NY), 1996.
• First Love: A Gothic Tale, Ecco Press (New York, NY), 1996.
• Man Crazy, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.
• My Heart Laid Bare, Dutton (New York, NY), 1998.
• Broke Heart Blues: A Novel, Dutton (New York, NY), 1999.
• Blonde: A Novel, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.
• Middle Age: A Romance, Ecco Press (New York, NY), 2001.
• Beasts, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2002
• I'll Take You There: A Novel, Ecco (New York, NY), 2002.
• The Tattooed Girl: A Novel, Ecco (New York, NY), 2003.
• Rape: A Love Story (novella), Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2003.
• The Falls: A Novel, Ecco (New York, NY), 2004.
• Missing Mom, Ecco (New York, NY), 2005.
• Black Girl/White Girl, Ecco (New York, NY), 2006.
• The Gravedigger's Daughter, Ecco (New York, NY), 2007.
• My Sister, My Love: The Intimate Story of Skyler Rampike, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.
• A Fair Maiden, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Boston, MA), 2009.

• Lives of the Twins, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1988.
• Soul/Mate, Dutton (New York, NY), 1989.
• Nemesis, Dutton (New York, NY), 1990.
• Snake Eyes, Simon & Schuster (New York, NY), 1992.
• You Can't Catch Me, Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.
• Double Delight, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997.
• Starr Bright Will Be with You Soon, Dutton (New York, NY), 1999.
• The Barrens, Carroll & Graf (New York, NY), 2001.

• Take Me, Take Me with You, Ecco (New York, NY), 2004.
• The Stolen Heart, Ecco (New York, NY), 2005.
• Blood Mask, Ecco (New York, NY), 2006.

• By the North Gate, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1963.
• Upon the Sweeping Flood and Other Stories, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1966.
• The Wheel of Love and Other Stories, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1970.
• Marriages and Infidelities, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1972.
• The Goddess and Other Women, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1974.
• Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Stories of Young America, Fawcett (New York, NY), 1974, published as Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Selected Early Stories, Ontario Review Press (Princeton, NJ), 1993, expanded edition, edited and with an introduction by Elaine Showalter, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 1994.
• The Hungry Ghosts: Seven Allusive Comedies, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1974.
• The Poisoned Kiss and Other Stories from the Portuguese, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1975.
• The Seduction and Other Stories, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1975.
• Crossing the Border: Fifteen Tales, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1976.
• Night Side: Eighteen Tales, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1977.
• All the Good People I've Left Behind, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1978.
• The Lamb of Abyssalia, Pomegranate (Cambridge, MA), 1980.
• A Sentimental Education, Dutton (New York, NY), 1981.
• Last Days, Dutton (New York, NY), 1984.
• Wild Nights (limited edition), Croissant (Athens, OH), 1985, also published as Wild Nights! Stories About the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway, Ecco (New York, NY), 2008.
• Raven's Wing, Dutton (New York, NY), 1986.
• The Assignation, Ecco (New York, NY), 1988.
• Where Is Here?, Ecco (New York, NY), 1992.
• Heat: And Other Stories, Plume (New York, NY), 1992.
• Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque, Dutton (New York, NY), 1994.
• Will You Always Love Me? and Other Stories, Dutton (New York, NY), 1995.
• The Collector of Hearts: New Tales of the Grotesque, Dutton (New York, NY), 1999.
• Faithless: Tales of Transgression, Ecco (New York, NY), 2001.
• I Am No One You Know: Stories, Ecco (New York, NY), 2004.
• The Female of the Species: Tales of Mystery and Suspense, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2005.
• High Lonesome: New & Selected Stories, 1966-2006, Ecco (New York, NY), 2006.
• The Museum of Dr. Moses: Tales of Mystery and Suspense, Harcourt (Orlando, FL), 2007.
• Dear Husband: Stories, Ecco/HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2009.

• Women in Love and Other Poems, Albondacani Press (New York, NY), 1968.
• Anonymous Sins and Other Poems (also see below), Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 1969.
• Love and Its Derangements: Poems (also see below), Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 1970.
• Angel Fire (also see below), Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 1973.
• Dreaming America (limited edition), Aloe Editions, 1973.
• Love and Its Derangements and Other Poems (includes Anonymous Sins and Other Poems, Love and Its Derangements, and Angel Fire), Fawcett (New York, NY), 1974.
• The Fabulous Beasts, Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 1975.
• Season of Peril, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1977.
• Women Whose Lives Are Food, Men Whose Lives Are Money: Poems, illustrated by Elizabeth Hansell, Louisiana State University Press (Baton Rouge, LA), 1978.
• The Stepfather (limited edition), Lord John Press (Northridge, CA), 1978.
• Celestial Timepiece (limited edition), Pressworks (Dallas, TX), 1981.
• Invisible Woman: New and Selected Poems, 1970-1972, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1982.
• The Luxury of Sin (limited edition), Lord John Press (Northridge, CA), 1983.
• The Time Traveler, Dutton (New York, NY), 1989.
• Tenderness: Poems, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1996.

• The Edge of Impossibility: Tragic Forms in Literature, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1972.
• The Hostile Sun: The Poetry of D.H. Lawrence, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1973.
• New Heaven, New Earth: The Visionary Experience in Literature, Vanguard Press (New York, NY), 1974.
• Contraries: Essays, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 1981.
• The Profane Art: Essays and Reviews, Dutton (New York, NY), 1983.
• On Boxing, Doubleday (New York, NY), 1987, expanded edition, Ecco (New York, NY), 1994.
• (With Eileen T. Bender) Artist in Residence, Indiana University Press (Bloomington, IN), 1987.
• (Woman) Writer: Occasions and Opportunities, Dutton (New York, NY), 1988.
• Conversations with Joyce Carol Oates, edited by Lee Milazzo, University Press of Mississippi (Jackson, MS), 1989.
• Where I've Been, and Where I'm Going: Essays, Reviews, and Prose, Plume (New York, NY), 1999.
• The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art, Ecco Press (New York, NY), 2003.
• Joyce Carol Oates: Conversations, 1970-2006, edited by Greg Johnson, Ontario Review Press (Princeton, NJ), 2006.
• The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates: 1973-1982, edited by Greg Johnson, Ecco (New York, NY), 2007.

• Big Mouth & Ugly Girl, HarperTempest (New York, NY), 2002.
• Small Avalanches and Other Stories, HarperTempest (New York, NY), 2003.
• Freaky Green Eyes, HarperTempest (New York, NY), 2003.
• Sexy, HarperTempest (New York, NY), 2005.
• After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away, HarperTempest (New York, NY), 2006.

• Come Meet Muffin!, illustrated by Mark Graham, Ecco (New York, NY), 1998.
• Where Is Little Reynard? (picture book), illustrated by Mark Graham, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2003.
• Naughty Cherie, illustrated by Mark Graham, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.

• The Sweet Enemy, produced off-Broadway, 1965.
• Sunday Dinner, produced off-Broadway, 1970.
• Ontological Proof of My Existence (produced off-off-Broadway, 1972), published in Partisan Review, Volume 37, 1970.
• Miracle Play, Black Sparrow Press (Santa Barbara, CA), 1974.
• Three Plays, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1980.
• Presque Isle, produced in New York, NY, at Theater of the Open Eye, 1984.
• Triumph of the Spider Monkey, produced at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, 1985.
• American Holiday, produced at the Los Angeles Theatre Academy, 1990.
• In Darkest America: Two Plays, Samuel French (New York, NY), 1991.
• I Stand Before You Naked (produced in New York, NY, at the American Place Theatre; also see below), Samuel French (New York, NY), 1991.
• How Do You Like Your Meat? (also see below), produced in New Haven, CT, 1991.
• Twelve Plays (contains Tone Cluster, The Eclipse, How Do You Like Your Meat?, The Ballad of Love Canal, Under/ ground, Greensleeves, The Key, Friday Night, Black [also see below], I Stand before You Naked, The Secret Mirror [also see below], and American Holiday), Plume (New York, NY), 1991.
• Black, produced at the Williamstown Summer Festival, 1992.
• Gulf War, produced by the Ensemble Studio Theatre, 1992.
• The Secret Mirror, produced in Philadelphia, PA, at the Annenberg Theatre, 1992.
• The Rehearsal, produced by the Ensemble Studio Theatre, 1993.
• The Perfectionist (also see below; produced in Princeton, NJ, 1993), published in The Perfectionist and Other Plays, Ecco (New York, NY), 1995.
• The Truth-Teller, Circle Rep Play-in-Progress, 1993.
• The Perfectionist and Other Plays, Ecco Press (New York, NY), 1995.
• HERE SHE IS!, produced in Philadelphia, PA, 1995.
• New Plays, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1998.
• Bad Girls, produced in New York, NY, by the Director's Company, 2003.
• Dr. Magic: Six One Act Plays, Samuel French (New York, NY), 2004.

• Scenes from American Life: Contemporary Short Fiction, Random House (New York, NY), 1973.
• (With Shannon Ravenel) Best American Short Stories of 1979, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1979.
• Night Walks, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1982.
• First-Person Singular: Writers on Their Craft, Ontario Review Press (New York, NY), 1983.
• (With Boyd Litzinger) Story: Fictions Past and Present (textbook), Heath (Lexington, MA), 1985.
• (With Daniel Halpern) Reading the Fights: The Best Writing about the Most Controversial of Sports, Holt (New York, NY), 1988.
• The Best American Essays, Ticknor & Fields (New York, NY), 1991.
• (With Daniel Halpern) The Sophisticated Cat: A Gathering of Stories, Poems, and Miscellaneous Writings about Cats, Dutton (New York, NY), 1992.
• The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 1992.
• George Bellows: American Artist, Ecco (New York, NY), 1995.
• The Essential Dickinson, Ecco (New York, NY), 1996.
• American Gothic Tales, Plume (New York, NY), 1996.
• Story: The Art and the Craft of Narrative Fiction, Norton (New York, NY), 1997.
• The Best of H.P. Lovecraft, Ecco Press (New York, NY), 1997.
• (With R.V. Cassill) The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction, Norton (New York, NY), 1997.
• (Also author of introduction) Telling Stories: An Anthology for Writers, Norton (New York, NY), 1997.
• (With Janet Berliner) Snapshots: Twentieth-Century Mother-Daughter Fiction, David R. Godine (Boston, MA), 2000.
• The Best American Essays of the Century, Houghton (Boston, MA), 2000.
• The Best New American Voices 2003, Harvest (San Diego, CA), 2002.
• Uncensored: Views and (Re)views (collection of prose pieces), Ecco/HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2005.
• (With Otto Penzler) The Best American Mystery Stories, 2005, Houghton (Boston, MA), 2005.
• (With Christopher R. Beha) The Ecco Anthology of Contemporary American Short Fiction, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2008.

Also author of short film adaptation of Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?, 2006.

Also author of foreword, Saving Graces: Images of Women in European Cemeteries, by David Robinson, Norton (New York, NY), 1995. Contributor of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction to periodicals, including New York Times Book Review, New York Times magazine, New York Review of Books, New Yorker, Harper's, London Times Literary Supplement, Michigan Quarterly Review, Mademoiselle, Vogue, Hudson Review, Paris Review, Grand Street, Atlantic Monthly, Poetry, and Esquire. Editor, with husband, Raymond Smith, of Ontario Review.

Most of Oates's manuscripts, including her ongoing journal, are housed in Special Collections, Syracuse University Library.