Lydia Kiesling

Lydia Kiesling is a novelist and culture writer. Her first novel, The Golden State, was a 2018 National Book Foundation “5 under 35” honoree and a finalist for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award. Her second novel, Mobility, a national bestseller, was named a best book of 2023 by Vulture, Time, and NPR, among others. It was longlisted for the Joyce Carol Oates Prize and a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. Lydia is the recipient of a 2025 Miller Foundation Spark Award for Oregon artists. Her essays and nonfiction have been published in outlets including The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Nation, and The Cut.