Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over forty novels, as well as a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award,for her novel them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, and the National Humanities Medal.She received Norman Mailer Prize for Lifetime Achievement in 2012.