[1] Udall grew up in a large Mormon family in St. Johns, Arizona.

[3] He was formerly a faculty member of Franklin & Marshall College[4] starting in 1998,[5] then Southern Illinois University,[3] and now teaches writing at Boise State University.

[6] A collection of his short stories titled Letting Loose the Hounds was published in 1998,[7] and his debut novel The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint was first published in 2001.

The characterization and structure of the latter has been favorably compared to the work of John Irving.

[8] In July 2007, Udall appeared on an episode of This American Life.