Gabriel George Hudson

Gabe Hudson, an American author, was born in Muncie, Indiana, United States, on September 12, 1971 and passed away on November 23, 2023. Knopf published his novel Gork, the Teenage Dragon on July 11, 2017. Hudson’s inaugural work of fiction, Dear Mr. President (Knopf, 2002), garnered acclaim and was translated into seven languages. It also received the esteemed Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the Alfred Hodder Fellowship of Princeton University. Additionally, it made the PEN/Hemingway Award finalist list. It was a New York Times New & Notable Paperback, a St. Louis Post-Dispatch Best Book of the Year, one of GQ’s Ten Best Books of the Year, and one of The Village Voice’s 25 Best Books of the Year. The New York Times Magazine, The Village Voice, McSweeney’s, BlackBook, Granta, Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art, and the International Herald Tribune are among the publications that have featured Gabe Hudson’s work. The 2004 HBO book “Six Feet Under: Better Living Through Death” featured a contribution from Hudson. He was an editor-at-large for McSweeney’s. In 2007, he was recognized as one of the “Twenty Best Young American Novelists” by Granta Magazine. He also received the Adele Steiner Burleson Award in Fiction from the University of Texas at Austin, the John Hawkes Prize in Fiction from Brown University, and the Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University.

Stories From Gabe’s Family

Gabe's father, Bruce:

Thoughts of Gabe center on one word: Bold. In our Austin suburb, where he wasn’t allowed to play football with the older neighborhood boys, at age seven I caught him tackling them. On one occasion, he jumped up after being knocked down, and yelled, “Try to come my way, I’ll tackle you every time.” When Gabe was nine, he lived for part of every year in North Carolina, and the other part in Texas. In Raleigh, it was his first time living in a large apartment complex. Days after we moved in, I happened to see Gabe toe to toe, fighting with a much larger boy. I, the protective father, hollered, breaking up the fight. Later, Gabe admonished me: Dad, in this neighborhood, if I get into a fight you have to stay out of it.

In Raleigh, Gabe played on the best travel soccer team in the state. As parents may know, that necessitates a considerable amount of travel, almost year around practices, and substantial equipment. The expense never went unappreciated. Watching him play was one of our chief joys.

His obvious physical boldness was mirrored in self-assurance emotionally and intellectually. In Houston, already an accomplished writer, he was excited to learn of a class at his high school on William Faulkner, whom he'd read as an eighth grader. I was impressed when he asked which critics he should read. Not more than six weeks into the class, Gabe stood and announced to the teacher that her class was a disgrace to Faulkner. He walked out, quitting the class, and simultaneously high school, a parent's nightmare. Gabe’s originality and spirit can’t be appreciated without viewing that in a wider context. He knew that Austin Community College offered a special curriculum in which a student achieving a given GPA would automatically be admitted to the University of Texas at Austin. He had a plan that lead him out of high school and into college where he won a campus wide short story contest which lead to a generous grant to pursue an MFA at Brown University. From there prizes and accolades mounted, along with a rapid rise in the literary world. Through it all, Gabe maintained his unique point of view and way of speaking his mind.

Gabe's artistic side became clear as early as the fourth grade, when, writing something for a class, he asked which of two different sentences I thought best. His sense of literary merit was startling at such a young age. Gabriel Hudson was above all a writer, a person of books, a person happiest amongst writers.

Gabe’s mother, Sanchia .....

Gabe was an adorable towhead who grew to be a reader, athlete, writer, author, teacher, professor, friend, mentor, podcaster, and a person who understood that we are all equal members of the universe. He loved animals; he had a special bond with Coco, a goldendoodle. Gabe loved Coco unconditionally, and Coco reciprocated. I saw a lightness of being with Gabe when he was with Coco.

Gabe joined the Marine Corps reserves out of high school. When I asked why the Marines, he told me the Marines were the toughest. He came out a man with positive and funny tales about basic training.

When he went to Austin Community College, with the goal of transferring to the University of Texas-Austin, he sometimes called in the middle of the night just to talk. I always listened.

Gabe always, and only, wanted to be a writer from a young age. When he was at UT, he took a writing class from a visiting professor at Brown University. Before Gabe left UT for Brown, he won a writing award. At Brown, his goal became to win the John Hawkes writing award; he succeeded.

His next major goal was to publish a book. He spent a great deal of time at Lake Travis crafting a manuscript. He went to New York City, with manuscript in hand, and hoping to find an agent and publisher. He was introduced to an editor at a party. Dear Mr President was born. Gabe won numerous awards for that book.

Along the way, he made lifelong friendships with other writers and those in the publishing business.

He taught at Princeton, and was offered a position at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. Gabe was asked to start a creative writing department when at Yonsei. He made lasting friendships with students, some of whom considered him a mentor who helped change their lives.

He once explained to me how he taught writing to his students; it was different and effective.

Gabe’s second book was Gork the Teenage Dragon. I saw in it some of Gabe, Gork fighting other teenage dragons to win the girlfriend. Gork succeeded.

Gabe lived his last years on Cape Cod in Massachusetts, where he continually expressed his love for the nature that Cape Cod offered: the beaches, the sky, the trees. He took up podcasting in the last two years. His first podcast was Twitterverse; the last was Kurt Vonnegut Radio, which he loved.

May you rest in peace knowing and understanding those who will always love you. ❤ Mom

Gabe's stepmother, Virginia:

To be step-son and step-mother can be as complex and challenging as regular parenthood, and as full of love. Gabriel was an awesome son. Challenging in his youth because of his extreme intelligence, boldness, and dynamic personality, but also steadfast in expressions of care and heartfelt love. I knew my good fortune in being so readily accepted by him.

There are many wonderful memories of our time together: introducing him to his little brother, Kendall, camping and fishing trips, special meals and celebrations. But it's the small memories from around the house that hold me captive now, his cleverness, his humor, his delight in literature, his being.

I wish most of all to shine a bright, bright light on Gabe's loyalty to his mother. He was unfailingly supportive of her and at the same time, of me, never asking that either of us be other than we were, accepting what each had to offer in turn. The way that he negotiated the territory of two families as a child speaks of his beautiful, strong character.

I deeply enjoyed being along for much of the ride of Gabe's life as a writer. He inspired me greatly, which lead to my own scribbling. As he mentored others, he did so for me. I know from the time period during which he shared specifics of his craft with me what an incredible teacher he must have been, both direct and kind, lifting and encouraging. I know that what he gave me as step-family, friend, and mentor, will resonate throughout my whole life.

Gabe’s stepfather, Peter .....

The things we remember ... breakdancing! Gabe practiced in our dining room before entering a contest at an area club. I have no recollection of whether or not he won but he must have done well! Several years ago, I met Gabe in Iowa. He drove from Massachusetts and I flew from Florida. We were collecting our 6 week old golden doodle Coco. That was the beginning of a mutual love affair between pup and man. He loved Coco and she loved him. His car is parked in our driveway. I can tell she misses him when she sees his car. In Gabe’s early writing career, he’d tell his mom about his writings to be published in various publications. She saved every single one and the box in which she kept them (which I found today) weighs close to a ton! I think it was me who introduced him to the game of racquetball. Within weeks, he was cleaning my clock!

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be."

Kurt Vonnegut

“When a person dies he only appears to die. He is still very much alive in the past, so it is very silly for people to cry at his funeral. All moments, past, present and future, always have existed, always will exist. It is just an illusion we have here on Earth that one moment follows another one, like beads on a string, and that once a moment is gone it is gone forever.”

Kurt Vonnegut

"A purpose of human life, no matter who is controlling it, is to love whoever is around to be loved."

Kurt Vonnegut

A memorial in Gabe’s name will be established at a later date. Those wishing to honor Gabe may chose to make a contribution to UNICEF