Biography
Shalom Auslander was raised as an Orthodox Jew in Spring Valley, New York. Nominated for the Koret Award for writers under thirty-five, he has published stories and articles in Esquire, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine, as well as on nerve.com and nextbook.org. He is a regular contrib …
Read moreShalom Auslander was raised as an Orthodox Jew in Spring Valley, New York. Nominated for the Koret Award for writers under thirty-five, he has published stories and articles in Esquire, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine, as well as on nerve.com and nextbook.org. He is a regular contributor to the Public Radio International program This American Life. Auslander’s first book, the short story collection Beware of God, was published to critical acclaim in 2005.
In Auslander’s latest book, Foreskin’s Lament, he reveals a “painfully, cripplingly, incurably, miserably religious” youth in a strict, socially isolated Orthodox community, and recounts his rebellion and efforts to make a new life apart from it. His combination of unrelenting humor and anger renders a rich and fascinating portrait of a man grappling with his faith and family.
Auslander lives with his wife and son near Woodstock, New York.
Check out Shalom Auslander’s website at shalomauslander.com.
Speaking Topics
- Foreskin’s Lament: A Memoir
Speaker's video
Media
- "Painfully Religious"—The New York Times
- "Sweating the Small Stuff"—The Guardian
- "Looking for God in all things"—The Guardian
- "I was no patriot―until I went to France"―The Guardian
- "Fecal Position"―GQ
- "Shalom Auslander, Voicing a Comic 'Lament'"―NPR's Fresh Air
- "Sliding Dollar"—BBC Radio
- "Presidential Summer Romance"—BBC Radio
- "Tough Time to Be a Jew"―BBC Radio
- "Got You Pegged"—This American Life
- "Mistakes Were Made"—This American Life
- "Poultry Slam 2008"—This American Life
- "The Ten Commandments"—This American Life
- "My Big Break"—This American Life
- "Leaving the Fold"—This American Life
- "Remember Me"—This American Life
- "Shouting Across the Divide"—This American Life
Penguin Speakers Bureau




