Elena Lappin

Elena Lappin is a novelist and journalist. She is the author of a collection of stories, Foreign Brides (Picador, 1999), and a novel, The Nose (Picador, 2001). Her investigative narrative about the case of Fragments, a famous Holocaust hoax, was the cover title in Granta’s Truth and Lies issue (2000). She has contributed journalism, features, reviews and columns to, among others, Prospect, Slate, Sunday Times, Guardian Weekend, and New York Times Book Review. She has presented interviews with foreign writers on The Verb on BBC Radio 3, which also broadcast her original comedy series, Marty Himmelfarb, and several stories. She has also completed a non-fiction book about Solomon’s ‘Song of Songs’ (a personal meditation on its erotic appeal to a 21st century readership), published by Schocken/Nextbook (US) in 2009. Her memoir, ‘What Language Do You Dream In?’, was published by Virago (Little Brown) in 2010.

In addition to writing, Elena has worked as editor of the literary magazine, The Jewish Quarterly (1994-1997), and as a literary scout and consultant for publishers in various countries. She has also translated, from the Czech, The Diary of Petr Ginz (Atlantic, UK and US, 2007).