I’m a historical fiction writer with an MFA in fiction from Northwestern University. I finished my BA in creative writing from the University of Michigan in 2014. I was born in Lansing, Michigan, and currently live in Chicago, where I share a home with a grumpy cat named Mina.

My first novel, A Tip for the Hangman, was named one of Barnes & Noble’s Most Anticipated Reads of February 2021 and one of the Chicago Tribune‘s most anticipated 2021 releases. My second novel, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, received the 2019–2020 Distinguished Thesis award from Northwestern University in an earlier form.

When asked during grad school to generate a list of themes and objects that appear repeatedly in my writing, I came up with the following: church schisms, rats, high-stakes dinner parties, the Decembrist revolt of 1825, Anne of Cleves, salmon, librarians, puns, people who are very wrong but believe themselves to be very right, and passive-aggressive breakfasts.

I also write a twice-monthly newsletter called Dirtbags Through the Ages, which profiles the weirdest and wackiest people and events from across world history. There are a lot of swears in it, but my mom subscribes and enjoys it, so you might too.

By day, I work as an editor for a philanthropic consulting firm. By night, I am in bed by 10:30.

Learn more about Allison on her website.