Binnie Kirshenbaum
Binnie Kirshenbaum is the author of one story collection, History on a Personal Note, and seven novels, On Mermaid Avenue, A Disturbance in One Place, Pure Poetry, Hester Among the Ruins, An Almost Perfect Moment, and The Scenic Route. Her most recent novel, Rabbits for Food, was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and Notable Books of 2019; book critic Nancy Pearl of NPR and PBS selected Rabbits for Food as Best Novel of the Year; and it was on Most Anticipated, Editors Choice, and Best of the Year lists in other venues including Kirkus Reviews, Amazon, Shelf Talk, and Lit Hub. Kirshenbaum’s short fiction and essays have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers such as The Guardian, The New York Times Magazine, The LA Times, and Bomb. Her work has been widely anthologized and has been translated into nine languages. A new novel, The Last Word, is scheduled for release in fall 2023.
A Professor of Professional Practice in Fiction since 2002, she has also served as Departmental Chair and Director of Fiction.
Professor Binnie Kirshenbaum (CC ’80) will be releasing her eighth novel, Counting Backwards, with Penguin Random House on March 25, 2025. The book follows a middle-aged couple confronted by illness—the husband’s descent into early-onset Lewy body dementia—and their final years together full of despair, humor, rage, and the moments of beauty that surround them all.
Soon After First Light is a series where we talk craft, process, and pandemic with Columbia's accomplished writing professors.
Many Columbia alumni and faculty were among those recognized by NPR’s prestigious end of year list.
The School of the Arts is well represented on this years’ prestigious New York Times Notable Books of the Year list, which includes alumni and faculty members working across all genres, and ranges from veterans of the craft to a debut novelist.
Professor Binnie Kirshenbaum’s new novel Rabbits for Food was named An Amazon Best Book of the Month for May 2019 and A LitHub Most Anticipated Book of 2019, and it's out now through SOHO Press.