Mark Winegardner is an acclaimed American author, best known for his work on The Godfather Returns and The Godfather's Revenge, which continue the story of the Corleone family depicted in Mario Puzo's The Godfather. These novels have been praised for their faithful continuation of the iconic characters and storylines established in Puzo's work.
Born and raised in Bryan, Ohio, Winegardner was exposed to a wide range of American culture at a young age. His parents owned an RV dealership, and every summer he traveled with his family across the USA in various travel trailers and motorhomes. This early exposure to the diversity of American life would later inform his writing, which often explores the complexities of the human experience.
Winegardner is a highly educated author, having graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Miami University. He went on to receive a master of fine arts degree in fiction writing from George Mason University. Over the course of his career, he has published a number of highly acclaimed novels and collections of short stories, including Crooked River Burning, The Veracruz Blues, and That's True of Everybody. His work has been chosen as among the best of the year by a number of prestigious publications, including the New York Times Book Review, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.
In addition to his work as a novelist, Winegardner is also an accomplished short story writer. His stories have appeared in a number of prominent literary magazines, including GQ, Playboy, Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, DoubleTake, Family Circle, The Sporting News, Witness, Story Quarterly, American Short Fiction, Ladies Home Journal, Parents, and The New York Times Magazine. Several of his stories have been chosen as Distinguished Stories of the Year in The Best American Short Stories. He has also won numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies from organizations such as the Ohio Arts Council, the Lilly Endowment, the Ragdale Foundation, the Sewanee Writers Conference, and the Corporation of Yaddo.
Winegardner is currently a professor in the creative writing program at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, where he continues to inspire and mentor a new generation of writers. His work remains a significant contribution to American literature, and his legacy as a writer is sure to endure for many years to come.