Ozick, Cynthia, 1928-

Cynthia Ozick has published novels, criticism, essays, and short stories. Her fiction is serious, careful, and passionately written, often involving the theme of Judaism in a Christian world. Her deeply distinctive writing style, philosophical themes, and diverse output have made her one of the most honored and respected contemporary American authors.

Cynthia Ozick (1928- )is a novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic.

Novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic Cynthia Ozick was born on 17 April 1928 in New York, N.Y., to Russian immigrant parents William and Celia Ozick. In 1949, she graduated with a B.A. in English from New York University; she earned an M.A. in English literature from the Ohio State University in 1950. She married lawyer Bernard Hallote in 1952 and had one child, Rachel Sarah.

Ozick's first book, Trust, was published in 1966. She has also published collections of short fiction including The Pagan Rabbi and Other Stories (1971), Bloodshed and Three Novellas (1976), and Levitation: Five Fictions (1982). Ozick is also known as a critic, especially of Jewish-American literature, and has written and translated poetry. She has received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship (1968), the inaugral Rea Award for the Short Story (1986), and a National Humanities Medals (2007), among other honors.