Thomas Cobb (author)


Thomas Cobb is an American novelist and author of the 1987 novel Crazy Heart which was adapted into the 2010 Academy Award winning 2009 film Crazy Heart.

Life and career

Raised in Tucson, Arizona, Cobb acquired an MFA from the University of Arizona. He earned a PhD from the University of Houston, where he studied fiction writing with Donald Barthelme. Barthelme also advised him on the writing of Crazy Heart.
Cobb has taught at Eastern Arizona College and in the Arizona State Prison System. Since 1987, he has been a member of the faculty of Rhode Island College and is Professor of English and Director of Performing & Fine Arts Commission. He teaches fiction writing and literature and was the director of the program from 1987 to 2005. In 2010, he received the Rhode Island College Alumni Faculty Award.

Novels