Keith Gessen

Keith Gessen is a Russian-born American novelist, journalist, and translator. He is co-founder and co-editor of literary magazine n+1, a twice-yearly magazine of literature, politics, and culture based in New York City.

Keith Gessen, born Konstantin Alexandrovich Gessen in Moscow, Soviet Union, moved to the United States with his family in 1981.

In 1998, Gessen received his BA from Harvard University in history and literature, and in 2004, he earned his MFA from Syracuse University in creative writing.

Gessen has contributed extensively to publications like The New Yorker, The London Review of Books, The Atlantic, and the New York Review of Books, offering insightful perspectives on Russia.

After translating Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich in 2005, he gained international recognition.

Keith Gessen has also written about books for various magazines, including Dissent, Slate, and New York, where he served as the regular book critic.

In 2008, Gessen published his debut novel, All the Sad Young Literary Men, receiving mixed reviews. He continued his literary contributions by editing Diary of a Very Bad Year: Confessions of an Anonymous Hedge Fund Manager in 2010, engaging in the Occupy Movement in 2011, and co-editing the OCCUPY! Gazette.

In 2015, Gessen co-edited City by City: Dispatches from the American Metropolis, recognized as the Best Summer Read of 2015 by Publishers Weekly.

His second novel, A Terrible Country, was published in 2018, followed by a serialized version on BBC Radio 4 in 2019.

In 2022, he released the non-fiction memoir Raising Raffi: The First Five Years about raising his son.

Keith Gessen is married to writer Emily Gould, and they currently reside in New York.

Photo credit: Twitter @keithgessen