Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945), American novelist, became known as one of the principal exponents of American naturalism, and in 1944, he was awarded the Merit Medal for Fiction by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He began his writing career as a newspaperman, working in Chicago, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh. With the publication of The Financier in 1912, he was able to give up newspaper work and devote himself to writing. In addition to novels, Dreiser, a socialist, wrote several nonfiction books on political issues. He was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, and attended Indiana University.
