Lara Tupper

Fiction Writer

Becket, MA
Massachusetts US

Author's Bio

Lara Tupper is the award-winning author of four books: At the Center, a literary/speculative novel about cults and book bans (Regal House, 2027), Amphibians, a story collection set around the world (Leapfrog Global Fiction Award winner; Leapfrog Press), Off Island, a fictional re-imagining of Paul Gauguin's adventures (finalist, Housatonic Book Award; Encircle Publications) and A Thousand and One Nights (Harcourt and Histria Books), an autobiographical novel about her years as a lounge singer on cruise ships and in luxury hotels. She co-wrote the screenplay adaptation for A Thousand and One Nights. Lara's work has appeared in The Believer, Epiphany, Zone 3, Ghost Story, etc. and been anthologized in many collections. A graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College, she taught writing at Rutgers University and now presents workshops and manuscript development via Swift Ink Stories, her writing platform. She is working on a memoir/biography (Daughter of Congress) about her father, a former politician from Maine. 

Publications & Prizes

Anthology:
Six-Word Memoirs on Love and Heartbreak (Harper Perennial, 2009)
Books:
Amphibians (Leapfrog Press, 2021)
,
Off Island (Encircle Publications, 2020)
,
A Thousand and One Nights (Harcourt, 2007)
Prizes won: 

Massachusetts Cultural Council Grants (2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022),

Martha Boschen Porter Fund Award for Writers, 2026 and 2022,

Galileo Press, Short List for Fiction, 2024,

First Pages Prize for Creative Nonfiction (longlist), 2023,

Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music In Literature (finalist), 2022,

Black Lawrence Press, Big Moose Prize (longlist), 2022,

UNO Press Prize (finalist), 2022 and 2021,

Housatonic Book Award (finalist), 2021,

Orision Books Fiction Prize (finalist), 2021,

Elixir Press Fiction Award (semi-finalist), 2021,

Leapfrog Global Fiction Award (winner), 2019, Nicholas Schaffner Award for Music In Literature (runner up), 2019, Fiction Prize, Dogwood Journal (finalist), 2019, Supernatural Fiction Award, The Ghost Story (honorable mention), 2019, Crazyshorts! Short-Short Fiction Award (finalist), Crazyhorse Literary Journal, 2019, Rick DeMarinis Short Story Contest (finalist), Cutthroat, a Journal of the Arts, 2019, Spring Award, Nowhere Magazine (honorable mention), 2017

 

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Margaret Atwood, Melissa Febos, Ling Ma, Jami Attenberg, Anthony Doerr, Kazuo Ishiguro
What I'm reading now: 
Twice Born by Hester Kaplan, Also a Poet by Ada Calhoun

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Born in: 
Boothbay Harbor, ME
Maine
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Last update: Apr 28, 2026