(1925–64), U.S. author. Born on March 25, 1925, in Savannah, Ga., Flannery O'Connor began to write as a college student. Recognition came soon after, for the prizewinning novel ‘Wise Blood', which was published in 1953. Her fiction, misunderstood by many at first because of its religious themes and frequent violence, came to be widely read and includes the 1955 collection ‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find, and Other Stories'. Her ‘Complete Stories', published after her death, won the 1972 National Book Award.