Elizabeth Strout L'82: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

From an early age, Elizabeth Strout L'82 was fascinated with seeing life through someone else's perspective, so it's no surprise she envisioned a career in writing, penning works of fiction as a teenager. Upon arrival at Syracuse University's College of Law, Strout aspired to be a lawyer during the day and an author at night. While her legal career was short-lived after graduating cum laude from Syracuse, Strout's writing career has taken off. An accomplished and acclaimed novelist, Strout's books have garnered major literary awards, including a Pulitzer Prize for "Olive Kitteridge" in 2008, which was adapted into an Emmy Award-winning mini-series starring Frances McDormand. Strout discusses how she creates her characters and the authors who inspire her, reveals how she was virtually the last person to know about the Pulitzer Prize, and shares how Syracuse shaped her development both as a person and as an author by teaching her to think differently.