Max Apple

"When I write my primary concern is for my characters. They count on me for everything and my primary obligation is to let them live in language as fully as I can."

Max Apple (b. 1941) has been described as a "writer's writer," a dedicated author of short fiction who writes with precision and control, conveying great meaning with few words. Apple has been writing since the mid-'70s, when he penned his first book, The Oranging of America (1976), a collection of short stories that satirizes social norms and often places historical figures, such as motor-lodge entrepreneur Howard Johnson and novelist Normal Mailer, in farcical situations. His oeuvre includes Zip: A Novel of the Left and the Right (1978), The Jew of Home Depot and Other Stories (2007), and the screenplays for 1994's The Air Up There, starring Kevin Bacon, and 1995's Roommates, based on Apple's 1994 memoir about being a graduate student while living with his grandfather. Apple, who teaches part time at the University of Pennsylvania, says of his work, "When I write, my primary concern is for my characters. They count on me for everything and my obligation is to let them live in language as fully as I can."