Miklós Vámos

CARREER:

• 1969-Present: writer of novels, short stories, etc.
• 2006-2008: Correspondent to the PostGlobal (The Washington Post)
• 1995-2003: Host of popular cultural TV talk shows.
• 1990-2003: East European correspondent to The Nation  magazine (USA).
• 1975-1990: Literary consultant at the Objective Film Studio (Budapest).  We produced the Oscar winning Hungarian film Mephisto.
• 1988-89: Fulbright and CASTA Fellow at Yale University and at City University of N.Y.
• 1988-90: Visiting professor at Yale University (USA), teaching playwriting and screenwriting.
• 1975-88: Columnist of the Élet és Irodalom (“Life and Literature”, literary weekly, Budapest).

NOVELS:

• Trips in Erotica (Who the Hell is Goethe?) “Utazások Erotikában (Ki a franc az a Goethe?)”, a novel, 2007.
• Márquez and I, “Márkez meg én”, a novel, 2004.
• Lame Dog, “Sánta kutya,” a novel, 2003.
• Book of Fathers, “Apák könyve,” a novel, 2000.
• Mothers Are Not Chosen by Election, “Anya csak egy van,” a novel, 1995.
• If I Were a Rock Star, “Ha én Bródy volnék,” a novel, 1994.
• The New York—Budapest Subway, “A New York-Budapest metró,” a novel, 1993.
• Oy, “Jaj, ” a novel, 1988.
• Protest Song, “Félnóta,” a novel, 1986.
• Passionate People, “Szenvedélyes emberek,” 1986.
• Sing a Song, “Zenga zének,” a novel, 1983.
• Head over Heels, “Hanyatt homlok,” two short novels, 1983.
• Me and me, “Én és én,” a novel, 1979.
• Borgis Type, “Borgisz,” a  novel, 1975.

OTHER BOOKS:

• Bravo, “Hogy volt”, memories and portraits, 2005.
• The Xenophobe’s Guide to the Hungarians, written in English with Matyas Sarkozy. Published by Oval Books, London, 1999. Translated into 14 languages (Hungarian included!)
• Bar, “Bár,” 31 short stories, 1998.
• 135 Impossible Stories, “135 Lehetetlen történet,” portraits of actors, writers and artists, 1997.
• United Steaks of America, “Egybesült Államok, written in English, published at University Press, 1989.
• Play Tennis with Me (I Still Can’t Either), “Teniszezz velem (én se tudok még),” an essay, 1988.
• The Absent Correspondent Writes, “Ki nem küldött tudósítónk jelenti,” selected articles, 1985.
• Three Cheers, “Háromszoros vivát,” plays and radioplays, 1981.
• Somebody Else, “Valaki más,” selected short stories, 1981.
• Theodore Orang, Ph. D., “Dr. Orángutay Tivadar,” a tale, 1980.
• Changing, “Váltás,” short stories, 1977.
• She’s Thirteenth on the List, “Jelenleg tizenharmadik a listán,” short stories, 1973.
• Preface to the ABC’s, “Előszó az ábécéhez,” short stories, 1972.

TRANSLATIONS:

• I am represented by the Susanna Lee Agency (Paris) in the world since 2004 and by the Andreas Brunner Agentur (Vienna) in the German speaking countries since 2002.Book of Fathers came out in August, 2004, in Germany at btb Random House in Hard Cover. The paperback version came out in 2006. (Buch der Väter). It was  published in France (Gallimard), England (Little Brown), Canada (Little Brown), Spain and Latin-America (Lumen), Italy (Einaudi) Serbia (Laguna) and Poland (Albatros). It will come out in 2007 in Netherlands (Contact), Greece (Malliaris Paedia), Israel (Kinneret) and Poland (Albatros). The contract is in signing in Russia, Slowakia, Romania and in the USA.
• Mothers Are Not Chosen by Election came out in Germany also in 2006 at btb Random House. (Vom Lieben und Hassen).
• Borgis Type was published in Poland and Czechoslovakia.
• Sing a Song was published in Norway, Denmark and Finland, Oy, in Slovakia, Sweden and Denmark.  A selection of short stories came out in France (La Neige Chinoise, at L’Harmattan, 2003, Paris).
• Many short stories have been published in different periodicals and anthologies in France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Poland, USSR and Czechoslovakia.  Several short stories and articles were published in The New York Times, The Nation, The Harpers Magazine, The Atlantic Monthly  and The New Haven Register.
• Rough English translations of Mothers Are not Chosen by Election (novel) and The New York—Budapest Subway (novel) are available.  A French literary translation of Sing a Song (novel), translated by Jean-Luc Moreau is also available.
• I translated into English one of my shortest novels, Oy, because Scribner and Son was about to publish it in 1988, but in the end they changed their mind. (Stupid people.)

PLAYS:

• Four full-length comedies and three one-act plays have been successfully produced several times in different Hungarian theaters and abroad, including the USA (1974-1989).
• Doubletakes, “Két egyfelvonásos,” Actor’s Outlet (New York City, 1989, and Palmer Auditorium (New London, CT).  It was published in the Modern International Drama  (N. Y., 2/1990).
• Somebody Else, “Valaki más,” Yale Cabaret (New Haven, CT), 1989.
• And the Sky is Falling Down, “Égszakadás-földindulás,” Source Theater (Washington DC), 1986.
• Carpenter’s March, “Asztalosinduló,” (Produced in Hungary, at Petôfi Theater), 1976
• Three Cheers, “Háromszoros vivát,” (Produced in Hungary, at Egri Theater), 1979.
• World Season, “Világszezon,” (Produced in Hungary, at National Theater Szeged).
• Five different radioplays have been broadcasted in Germany, France, Switzerland, Poland and Slovakia.

FILMS:

• (I wrote the screenplay): Samba, “Szamba,” shot in 1995.  Directed by Robert Koltai.
• Love, Mother, “Csók, Anyu,” 1987.  Directed by Janos Rozsa. (Award of the Best Film of the Year; Award of the Hungarian Youth Association; Best Acting at the 1990 Jerusalem Film Festival).
• Electric Train, “Villanyvonat,” 1984.  Directed by George Gat. (Award for the Best Script).
• Head over Heels, “Hanyatt-homlok,” 1983. Directed by George Revesz.

LITERARY AWARDS:

• 2004: Honors of Merit of the Hungarian Republic.
• 2003: Colombus Award
• 2002: Pro Cultura Urbis
• 2000: Awards of the Hungarian Libraries
• 2000: Camera Hungaria
• 1996: Award of the Unions for Life Achievement
• 1984: József Attila-Award (one of the most prestigious literary awards in Hungary)
• 1983: Award of the Hungarian Youth Association
• 1977: Award of Critics

MEMBERSHIPS:

Pen Club, Hungarian Belletrists’ Company, Association of Hungarian Journalists

LANGUAGES:

Hungarian, English, French, German. Reading knowledge of Spanish, Russian and Latin

EDUCATION:

1970-1975: Faculty of Law (University Eötvös Loránd, Budapest). 

PERSONAL DATA:

• Born Jan. 29, 1950.
• Married. Daughter (1977) and twin boys (2003) make me happy.