Award-winning author Daniel Stern, University of Houston Cullen Distinguished Professor of English, died recently of complications following heart surgery.

Stern joined UH’s Creative Writing Program in 1992. He wrote nine novels, five short story collections, several plays and screenplays, and more than 100 essays and reviews. Stern received numerous awards, including the International Prix du Souvenir from the Bergen Belsen Society and the Government of France and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Rosenthal Award in Literature.

He is survived by his wife, Gloria Stern; son and daughter-in-law Eric and Beverly Branfman; and grandchildren Melissa and Joshua Branfman. A burial was held in New York on Sunday. A memorial service is planned for a later date in Houston.