Lauren Kessler is an award-winning author and (semi) fearless immersion reporter who combines lively narrative with deep research to explore everything from the gritty world of a maximum security prison to the grueling world of professional ballet, from the stormy seas of the mother-daughter relationship to the hidden world of Alzheimer’s sufferers.  She is the author of 15 books, including 11 works of narrative nonfiction, 3 biographies, an oral history, and 4 books on the craft of writing. Her work has been translated into seven languages and has earned the Pacific Northwest Book Award, the Oregon Book Award (three times), and the Nautilus Book Award. Her biographies have been Washington Post and Los Angeles Times bestsellers.

She writes regularly on the art and craft of narrative journalism for Harvard’s Nieman Storyboard. Her journalism has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Los Angeles Times Magazine, O magazine, salon.com, Utne Reader, The Nation, newsweek.com, Prevention, Ladies Home Journal and elsewhere. She writes an original essay every Wednesday and posts at at www.laurenkessler.com. A graduate of Medill School of Journalism, Northwestern University, she holds a Ph.D. in Communications from the University of Washington. An international speaker and workshop leader, she created two graduate programs in narrative journalism at the University of Oregon. More about her here: https://www.laurenkessler.com/about