LEOPARDI
WRITING CONFERENCE

Lynn Freed is the author of seven novels, a collection of stories, and two collections of essays. Five of her books were named New York Times Notable Books of theYear, and one a best book of the year by Times Literary Supplement. Critics called Freed’s work “dead-on brilliant,” “hilariously funny,” “acutely observant,” “astute, frank, and pitch-perfect.” Jonathan Yardley, critic for The Washington Post Book World, had this to say about her first collection of essays: “To the tiny list of necessary books for people who aspire to the writing life—Mystery and Manners, by Flannery O’Connor, and One Writer’s Beginnings, by Eudora Welty—must now be added Reading, Writing, and Leaving Home.” The New York Times Book Review called her last book of essays, The Romance of Elsewhere, “a marvelous collection.” Freed’s short fiction and essays have appeared in Harper’s, The New Yorker and The Atlantic Monthly, among many others. She was the recipient of the inaugural Katherine Anne Porter Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two O. Henry Awards, and she received fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and The Guggenheim Foundation, among others. Freed grew up in South Africa, before coming to the U.S. as a graduate student at Columbia University, where she received an MA and PhD in English Literature.