He took up residence in New York City's Hell's Kitchen section, where he shared an apartment with actor Bradford Dillman. He wrote occasional drama reviews while his first short stories (including "A Turn with the Sun" in 1953 and "Phineas" in 1956) were being published. During this period he continued to benefit from Wilder's interest in his work and began to write
A Separate Peace. After Holiday magazine published his article on Phillips Exeter Academy in late 1956, Knowles moved to Philadelphia in 1957 to assume the post of associate editor for Holiday. During this time A Separate Peace was published, first in England (1959) and then in the United States (1960). When it became clear soon after its American publication that A Separate Peace would be highly successful, Knowles, then thirty-four, resigned his editorship in August 1960 to embark on a two-year tour of Europe and the Middle East. His 1964 travelogue, Double Vision: American Thoughts Abroad, recounts his sojourn. His second novel, Morning in Antibes (1962), was published while Knowles was still abroad. Established as a professional writer, Knowles returned from Europe and moved to New York City, where he lived throughout the 1960s while continuing to travel abroad for short periods.
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