Paul Cohen

Fiction Writer

US
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Author's Bio

Paul Cohen's novel, THE GLAMSHACK, was named one of ten must-read debuts for fall 2017 by Barnes & Noble Reads, nominated for a Pushcart Press Editor's Book Award and called an "impressive feat" by Kirkus Reviews. He won the Prairie Lights Fiction Prize (judged by Ethan Canin), was a semi-finalist in the 2024 University of New Orleans Lab  Prize for his novel, THE CRUX, and was longlisted by both Disquiet International and Masters Review Fiction Contests. His fiction has appeared in Tin House, Five Chapters and others and his non-fiction in The Millions, The New York Times Magazine, the Village Voice and others. He is a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, where he won a teaching scholarship, and has taught writing at U.C. Berkeley, University of San Francisco and the University of Iowa. He is currently an adjunct faculty at University of Colorado, Boulder, and founder of MYTHWRX, a storybuilding system for business leaders. For more info visit paulcohenfiction.com or mythwrx.com.

Publications & Prizes

Book:
The Glamshack (7.13 Books, 2017)
Prizes won: 

Prairie Lights Prize for Fiction - Winner; Big Moose Prize for Novel - Finalist; 2024 University of New Orleans Lab Prize for Novel - semi-finalist; Black Warrior Review Fiction Contest - Finalist; Glimmer Train Magazine Fiction Open - Honorable Mention; Pushcart Press Editor's Book Award (for novel) - Nominee; National Magazine Awards (The Association of Educational Publishers), Best Feature Story - Winner.

 

Personal Favorites

Favorite authors: 
Saul Bellow, Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O'Connor, Grace Paley, Ian McGuire, William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, Jorge Luis Borges, Raymond Carver, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Leo Tolstoy, James Salter, Joseph Conrad, Robert Stone, Martin Amis
What I'm reading now: 
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt, Gods Without Men by Hari Kunzru

More Information

Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
American
Fluent in: 
English
Born in: 
Raised in: 
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Last update: Nov 14, 2025