author
Andrew Fetler
1925–2017
A Latvian-born American writer, teacher, and storyteller, he brought a wide, restless view of the world to both his fiction and his life. His work ranged from novels to prize-winning short stories, often shaped by displacement, travel, and sharp human observation.
3 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Riga, Latvia, on July 24, 1925, Andrew Fetler spent his early years moving through several countries before his family immigrated to the United States in 1939. He later served in the U.S. Army during World War II, an experience that formed part of the long international arc behind his writing.
Fetler became a novelist, short-story writer, and educator, and went on to teach English and creative writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he was later named professor emeritus. He published novels including The Travelers and Cry Snooker, and his shorter fiction also earned major recognition, including two O. Henry Awards.
Readers often remember him as a writer with a strong sense of place and movement—someone whose fiction could feel worldly, thoughtful, and quietly intense. He died on March 5, 2017, at age 91.