Sinclair Lewis (1885 - 1951)

Sinclair Lewis

Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American author, playwright and journalist, the first U.S. winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (1930).

Lewis graduated from Yale University and soon wrote his first book, an adventure novel for young people, which was published in 1912 under the pseudonym Tom Graham. Other novels followed, but it was the publication of Main Street: The Story of Carol Kennicott in 1920 that made Lewis famous. This novel immediately became an international sensation and sold a large number of copies.

The 1920s were extraordinarily successful for Lewis. He wrote "Erowsmith" (1925), "Mantrap" (1926), "Elmer Gantry" (1927), "The Man Who Knew Coolidge" (1928) and "Dodsworth" (1929). Hollywood also made five movies based on his works during this decade. Lewis was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for the movie Erowsmith, but he declined the award, objecting to the judging criteria. Lewis also worked in various positions in the publishing industry, including editor and manuscript reader, and published his stories in magazines.

In 1930, Sinclair Lewis became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature; he wrote eleven more novels afterward.