About

Mark Nielsen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. At the age of three, his family moved to North Carolina, where he spent his formative years. He attended Duke University where he studied with novelist Reynolds Price. He has a M.A. in Theatre History in Criticism and a M.F.A. in Playwriting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Mr. Nielsen likes to say that he is the “proud father” of three novels, with another on the way.

Mr. Nielsen is the author of twenty-three plays and musicals. His first play, Knight to Queen’s Rook Seven took top honors in the University of Missouri playwriting competition. His plays have been produced at various theatres across the southeast.

His first novel, Hotlanta!, received awards from the Great Southeast Book Festival, the Hollywood Book Festival, and the Los Angeles Book Festival.

Mr. Nielsen lives in Florida with his wife, Ad, and his dog, Tucker.