Rachel Cohen

Rachel Cohen writes essays about the lives of artists and writers, their friendships, and their discoveries. She spent the year driving 19,000 miles around the country, reading stacks of books in her trunk, and discovering for herself what it means to be an American writer. Her latest book, “Austen Years: A Memoir in Five Novels” explores reading (specifically, five novels by Jane Austen) in the times of isolation and transformation throughout her childbearing years and the death of her father. Rachel’s articles and essays have been published in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, HuffPost, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Travel + Leisure, The New Republic, and The London Review. She was a finalist for The Guardian First Book Award, received the notable book of the year award by the Los Angeles Times, and accepted fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Rachel lives in Chicago and is a professor of creative writing at the University of Chicago.

• Author of three best-selling books
• Finalist for The Guardian First Book Award, and received the notable book of the year award from the Los Angeles Times
• Creative writing professor at the University of Chicago