Rachel Kushner

1968–

American novelist and essayist whose writing brings together politics, art, history and marginal lives. She studied political economy at the University of California, Berkeley, and earned an MFA at Columbia University. Telex from Cuba and The Flamethrowers were National Book Award finalists. The Mars Room, set around the California prison system, was shortlisted for the 2018 Booker Prize. Her nonfiction includes The Hard Crowd. Creation Lake (2024), about an undercover operative infiltrating French environmental activists, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize.

Timeline of Rachel Kushner’s life

Works

• The Mars Room (2018)
• Creation Lake (2024)

Prizes

• Creation Lake — The Booker Prize 2024: Shortlist, Longlist
• The Mars Room — The Booker Prize 2018: Shortlist, Longlist