Shirley Jackson Biography

Shirley Jackson was an American author of novels and short stories, whose most famous short story ‘The Lottery’ is regarded as one of the greatest short stories ever written. Jackson was born in San Francisco but grew up in Burlingame, California, before the family moved to New York when she was a teenager. She had started writing stories and poems right from the time she was a teenager but it was during her time at the Syracuse University that she really came into her own when the campus magazine published one of her short stories titled ‘Janice’. After graduating from university, she settled down with her husband in New York and started working as a full time writer. Her stories were published in some of the most well-known American magazines and before long she became a known face in the American literary scene. Her first big break came in the form of the short story ‘Come Dance With Me In Ireland’ but later on her short story ‘The Lottery’ made her one of the most famous short story writers of her time. She also wrote novels and her novel ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ was turned into two feature films.