Rivka Galchen (born April 19, 1976) is a Canadian American writer. Her

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''Atmospheric Disturbances'', was published in 2008 and was awarded the

William Saroyan International Prize for Writing The William Saroyan International Prize for Writing is a biennial literary award for fiction and nonfiction in the spirit of William Saroyan by emerging writers. It was established by Stanford University Libraries and the William Saroyan Foundation ...

. She is the author of five books and a staff writer at ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''.

Early life

Galchen was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Ontario, to Israeli academics. When she was in preschool, her parents relocated to the United States. She grew up in

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, where her father, Tzvi Gal-chen, was a professor of meteorology at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

and her mother was a computer programmer at the

National Severe Storms Laboratory The National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather research laboratory under the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs). NSS ...

Education

Galchen received her

M.D. A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of physician. This ge ...

from Mount Sinai in 2003. After medical school, she earned a MFA in 2006 from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, where she was a Robert Bingham fellow.

Career

In 2006, Galchen received the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award for women writers. Her first novel, ''Atmospheric Disturbances'', was published in May 2008. The novel was a finalist for the Mercantile Library's 2008 John Sargent, Sr., First Novel Prize, the Canadian Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, and the 2008

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the governor general of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

. Galchen teaches writing at

. In 2010, ''

'' chose her as one of its "20 Under 40". Galchen served as the Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fiction Fellow for the Spring 2011 term at the

American Academy in Berlin The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and German ...

. In 2015, she received a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. Galchen's short-story collection ''American Innovations'' was published in 2014. It was longlisted for the 2014

Scotiabank Giller Prize The Giller Prize (known as the Scotiabank Giller Prize from 2005-2023) is a literary award given to a Canadian author of a novel or short story collection published in English (including translation) the previous year, after an annual juried c ...

and received the

Danuta Gleed Literary Award The Danuta Gleed Literary Award is a Canadian national literary prize, awarded since 1998. It recognizes the best debut short fiction collection by a Canadian author in English language. The annual prize was founded by John Gleed in honour of his ...

. Each story is based on a well-known short story by another author, but switches the narrator from male to female and changes other elements. In 2016, Galchen published ''Little Labors'', a book of essays about motherhood. In 2021, Galchen published her second novel, ''Everyone Knows Your Mother is a Witch''. The novel was shortlisted for the 2021

Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize The Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, formerly known as the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, is a Canadian literary award presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada after an annual juried competition of works submitted by publishers. ...

.Deborah Dundas
"‘May the force be with you’: Five finalists for the first Atwood Gibson Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize announced"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', September 29, 2021. Galchen writes for several national magazines, including ''The New Yorker'', ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', and ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...

''. She contributes criticism and essays to the ''

London Review of Books The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews. History The ''London Review of Book ...

.''

Bibliography

Novels

* *

For children

Collection

References

External links

Interviews

Interview of Galchen at The Fabulist

Interview of Galchen at The Paris Review

Reviews

James Wood review in "The New Yorker"

"Globe and Mail" review of "American Innovations"

Author page

* https://arts.columbia.edu/profiles/rivka-galchen/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Galchen, Rivka 1976 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers American women novelists Canadian expatriate writers in the United States Canadian people of Israeli descent Canadian women novelists Canadian women short story writers Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Columbia University faculty Harper's Magazine people Jewish American novelists Jewish Canadian writers The New Yorker people Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award winners Novelists from Toronto 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American Jews