Shalom Auslander
Author of Foreskin's Lament: A Memoir and Hope: A Tragedy

Photo credit: Patrick Andersson
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About Shalom Auslander
Shalom Auslander was raised as an Orthodox Jew in Spring Valley, New York. Nominated for the Koret Award for writers under thirty-five, he has published stories and articles in Esquire, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine, as well as on nerve.com and nextbook.org. He is a regular contributor to the Public Radio International program This American Life. Auslander’s first book, the short story collection Beware of God, was published to critical acclaim in 2005.
Auslander is the author of a memoir, Foreskin’s Lament, in which he reveals a “painfully, cripplingly, incurably, miserably religious” youth in a strict, socially isolated Orthodox community, and recounts his rebellion and efforts to make a new life apart from it. His combination of unrelenting humor and anger renders a rich and fascinating portrait of a man grappling with his faith and family. Auslander’s first novel, Hope: A Tragedy, was a finalist for the 2013 Thurber Prize and won the Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Prize. He is also the writer and creator of Showtime’s Happyish, a dark comedy starring Steve Coogan.
Auslander lives with his wife and children near Woodstock, New York.
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Speaking Topics
Foreskin’s Lament: A Memoir
Hope: A Tragedy
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Praise for Shalom Auslander
Praise for Mother for Dinner
Auslander. . .turns his taboo-shattering satiric gaze to cannibalism in this outrageous, salty take on contemporary culture.. . [a] riotous dissection of cultural formation and a community’s hunger for meaning.
— Publishers WeeklyAuslander uses his signature dark humor to brilliantly satirize tribalism in America… Graphic situations abound; even the characters are revolted, while, through their often ludicrous stories, Auslander explores the sense of otherness and the value of diversity. This could be a portrait of any ethnic group that has been consumed by America, though, in this case, it’s unclear who is devouring whom.
— Booklist -
Books by Shalom Auslander
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Media About Shalom Auslander
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Featured Title
Mother for Dinner
Maintaining tradition becomes all-consuming in Shalom Auslander’s novel. . . Mother for Dinner . . . turns a jaundiced eye toward ethnic identity and the burdens of tradition as they concern a different oppressed minority group. . .jokes are dependably good.”–The Wall Street Journal