Spark Artist

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photo by: Erica J. Mitchell

Lydia Kiesling

Literary Arts

Lydia Kiesling is a novelist and culture writer. Her first novel, The Golden State, was a 2018 National Book Foundation “5 under 35” honoree, longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, 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. Her essays and nonfiction have been published in outlets including The New York Times Magazine, The New YorkerThe Cut, and The Nation. She is a parent of two and lives in Southeast Portland with her family.