Lauren Belfer
Lauren Belfer | |
---|---|
Occupation | Novelist |
Education | Buffalo Seminary, Columbia University |
Genre | Historical Fiction |
Notable works | City Of Light, "A Fierce Radiance", "And After The Fire" |
Website | |
[www.laurenbelfer.com] |
Lauren Belfer is an American author of three novels, City Of Light, A Fierce Radiance, and And After The Fire.
She is from Buffalo, New York, where she attended the Buffalo Seminary.[1] The school would later serve as basis for the girls boarding-school depicted in her debut novel, City Of Light, about Buffalo, NY during the Pan-American Exposition.
At Swarthmore College, she majored in Medieval Studies. After graduating, she worked as a file clerk at an art gallery, a paralegal, an assistant photo editor at a newspaper, a fact checker at magazines, and as a researcher and associate producer on documentary films. She has an M.F.A. from Columbia University.
Her debut novel, City Of Light, was a New York Times bestseller,[2] as well as a number one Book Sense pick, a Barnes & Noble Discover Award nominee, a New York Times Notable Book,[3] a Library Journal Best Book,[4] a Main Selection of the Book-Of-The-Month Club, a bestseller in Great Britain,[5] has been translated into seven languages,[5] and was adapted into a stage play[6] by Anthony Clarvoe.
Her second novel, A Fierce Radiance, a historical thriller that follows the development of penicillin during World War II in New York City, was published by HarperCollins in June, 2010. It was named one of the best novels of 2010 by The Washington Post[7] and one of the year's five best mysteries by NPR.[8] The paperback edition was released March, 2011.
Her third novel, And After The Fire, is a powerful and passionate novel—inspired by historical events—about two women, one European and one American, and the mysterious choral masterpiece by Johann Sebastian Bach that changes both their lives. It's been compared to A.S. Byatt's Possession, and received a starred review from Booklist. USA Today gave And After The Fire a 4-star review, writing that the novel "swells with life’s great themes — love and death, family and faith — and the insistent, dark music of loss.” The New Yorker called And After The Fire "provocative." It is published by HarperCollins and was released on May 3, 2016. It is available to order now.
In May 2016, Lauren Belfer and her husband, noted musicologist, Michael Marissen, were profiled in The New York Times. In the article, they discuss their working process, Bach, and writing a novel with musical accuracy.
Belfer's fiction has also been published in the Michigan Quarterly Review, Shenandoah, and Henfield Prize Stories. Her nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Book Review,[9][10] the Washington Post Book World,[11][12] the Christian Science Monitor, and elsewhere.
Belfer is interviewed as an author/historian for the PBS documentary on Elbert Hubbard entitled Elbert Hubbard: An American Original.
She lives in New York City.
References
- ^ "Buffalo Seminary Profile | Buffalo, New York (NY)". boardingschoolreview.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Independents/Chain Bestseller List". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Notable Books of the Year". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA156099.html
- ^ a b "Author Listings: HarperCollins Publishers". harpercollins.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Buffalo Spree Magazine". buffalospreemagazine.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "The best novels of 2010". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Murder, They Wrote: The Year In Mysteries : NPR". npr.org. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Books in Brief: Fiction - The New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Books in Brief: Fiction - The New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Murder, He Wired". pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
- ^ "Our Bodies, Ourselves". pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Retrieved 2016-11-19.
External links
- Lauren Belfer Official Website
- HarperCollins
- Buffalo Seminary Official Website
- Further reading about City Of Light
- City Of Light - NYTimes Review
- City Of Light - Time Magazine Review
- A Fierce Radiance - NYTimes Review
- A Fierce Radiance - Washington Post Review
- And After the Fire - Booklist Starred Review