One of the nation’s leading literary biographers, Scott Donaldson has written eight books about 20th century American authors. These include By Force of Will: The Life and Art of Ernest Hemingway (1977), Fool for Love, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1983), John Cheever: A Biography (1988), and Archibald MacLeish: An American Life (1992), winner of the 1993 Ambassador Book Award for biography.
Donaldson has published many articles on American literature and culture and edited a number of books. After beginning his career as a newspaper reporter and editor in Minneapolis, Donaldson earned a Ph.D. in American studies at the University of Minnesota in 1966 then moved to Virginia to write and teach at the College of William and Mary. He retired in 1992 as professor of English, emeritus.
During his academic career, Donaldson was twice a Fulbright senior lecturer and received two major grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as awards from the Rockefeller foundation, MacDowell, the American Philosophical Society, and William and Mary. In 1999 he was elected to the board of the Hemingway Foundation/Society, and was a founding director of the Fulbright Alumni Association. Now living in Scottsdale and San Diego, Donaldson continues to write books and articles.
