biography

  • Debra Dean is the author of four critically acclaimed books that have been published in twenty-one languages. Her bestselling debut novel, The Madonnas of Leningrad, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice, a #1 Booksense Pick, a Booklist Top Ten Novel, an American Library Association Notable Book of the Year. Other honors include The Paterson Fiction Prize, a Florida Book Award, and the long-list for the Dublin Literary Award. She teaches the undergraduate courses Narrative Techniques and Writing Fiction, the MFA fiction workshops, and graduate courses in Point of View, Character, and Historical Fiction.

research interests

  • Debra Dean's creative writing has highlighted the stories of little known individuals against the backdrop of large historical events. Her two novels are set in 20th and 18th century St. Petersburg respectively; an artist's biography follows three individuals from Occupied Europe to the post-war NYC art scene; her memoir-in-progress excavates the history of Dean's hometowns, Seattle and the adjacent suburb, Bellevue, alongside her family's fortunes.

selected scholarly works & creative activities

full name

  • Debra Dean

visualizations