Beth Kander is a USA Today best-selling novelist with tangled roots in the Midwest and Deep South. She is the author of I MADE IT OUT OF CLAY, her adult debut, as well as several books for younger readers. The granddaughter of immigrants, her work often explores how worlds old and new intertwine—or collide. Described as a “genre-defying author and playwright” (Oxford American), her work has been called “riveting” and “habit-forming.” Her work has been featured in Oprah Daily, Writer’s Digest, Slackjaw, Frazzled, and other outlets.

Beth earned an MSW from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Creative Writing from Mississippi University for Women, where she now serves as visiting faculty. She currently calls Chicago home, and is lucky to live there with her very favorite characters: her heroic husband, their two hilarious kids, and a giant rescue dog named Oz. Right this moment, she’s probably revising a scene while drinking too much coffee. Representation: Allison Hellegers, Stimola Literary Studio.

SELECTED HONORS & AWARDS: Dramatists Guild Foundation National Fellow (2024-2025); Henry Award for Best New Play or Musical (2023-2024); NJPP Finalist (2023); Hey Alma! Film Pitch Winner (2022); T. Jefferson Carey Memorial Playwriting Award (2022); Henry Award for Best New Play or Musical (2019-2020); PitchWars (2019); Indie Bronze (2019); Headwaters New Play Award (2018); Equity Library Theatre Showcase (2017); Ashland New Plays Festival (2015, 2016); Eudora Welty Award (2008, 2010, 2012); Getchell New Play Award (2012); Mississippi Arts Commission Fellow (2010-2011).