Laura Sims
Laura Sims is an American novelist and poet. In 2017, Sims' debut novel Looker sparked a bidding war, which ultimately resulted in a major deal with Scribner. The book follows the spiraling descent of a woman obsessed—with the end of her marriage, with her inability to have a child, with her infuriatingly bourgeois Brooklyn neighborhood, and with her movie star neighbor.
Laura Sims
Laura Sims · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Name
- Laura Sims
- Birthplace
- Richmond, Virginia
- Education
- College of William & Mary University of Washington (MFA)
- Occupation
- Poet
- Nationality
- United States
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wikidata · Q17031066 · wikipedia · Laura Sims
In this article
Biography
Biography
It was released on January 8, 2019. Sims's second novel, How Can I Help You, came out in July 2023. The novel received a major sales boost when bestselling crime novelist Harlan Coben recommended it as one of his favorite reads on the Today Show. Her latest novel is The Man.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Laura Sims • Birthplace — Richmond, Virginia • Education — College of William & Mary University of Washington (MFA) • Occupation — Poet • Notable Works — Practice, Restraint and My god is this a man
Biography
Biography
Sims is the author of four books of poetry: Staying Alive (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2016), My god is this a man, Stranger, and Practice, Restraint (Fence Books). In 2014, powerHouse Books published Fare Forward: Letters from David Markson, compiled and edited by Sims. She has published five poetry chapbooks, including POST- (Goodmorning Menagerie, 2011). Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals, including Aufgabe, Black Clock, Black Warrior Review, Colorado Review, Columbia Poetry Review, Crayon, and Denver Quarterly, among others. She has published book reviews and essays in Boston Review, New England Review, Rain Taxi, and The Review of Contemporary Fiction. Her honors include the 2005 Fence Books Alberta Prize for Practice, Restraint and a Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship from the Japan-US Friendship Commission in 2006. Sims is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. She received a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington. She is a professor of creative writing, literature and composition who currently teaches at New York University. She has been a featured writer for Harriet, the Poetry Foundation's blog, and she is a co-editor of Instance Press with poets Elizabeth Robinson, Beth Anderson, and Susanne Dyckman. She lives in South Orange, New Jersey.
Novels
Novels
• Looker (Scribner, 8 January 2019) • How Can I Help You (Penguin Random House, 18 July 2023)
Chapbooks
Chapbooks
• POST- (Goodmorning Menagerie Press, 2012) • Bank Book (Answer Tag Press, 2004)
Recent poems
Recent poems
• Excerpt from Staying Alive on Omniverse blog • Excerpt from Staying Alive in Gulf Coast • Excerpt from Staying Alive in Black Clock
Interviews
Interviews
• Interview with Tyler Malone on Full Stop • Conversation with Cathy Wagner in The Conversant • Interview with Joseph Massey on Studio One blog • Spotlight on Coldfront • Interview with Kate Greenstreet on kickingwind
Reviews
Reviews
• Review of My god is this a man at Tarpaulin Sky • Review of My god is this a man at Rain Taxi • 1=Review of My god is this a man at The Volta • Review of Fare Forward at New York Times • Review of Fare Forward at Chicago Tribune • Review of Fare Forward at Winnipeg Review • Review of Stranger at Bookslut • Review of Stranger at Coldfront • Review of Practice, Restraint at HTMLgiant
Poetry books
Poetry books
• Staying Alive (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2016) • My god is this a man (Fence Books, 2014) • Stranger (Fence Books, 2009) • Practice, Restraint (Fence Books, 2005)
Nonfiction books
Nonfiction books
• Fare Forward: Letters from David Markson (powerHouse Books, 2014)
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Laura Sims, revision 1371729459 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Laura Sims | Fence Portal.
- 2.Laura Sims. Poetry Foundation. 2 October 2018.
- 3.Fare Forward: Letters from David Markson, Edited by Laura Sims.
- 4.Chapbooks. Goodmorning Menagerie: A Chapbook Press.
- 5.Litmus Press | Aufgabe 8.
- 6.Issue 16 « Black Clock.
- 7.Denver Quarterly 47:4 - Laird Hunt, Editor : Small Press Distribution.
- 8.David Markson and the Problem of the Novel. New England Review. 18 January 2012.
- 9.Vol. XXIII, #3 Diane Williams / Aidan Higgins / Patricia Eakins - Dalkey Archive Press. www.dalkeyarchive.com.
- 10.Ottoline Prize | Fence Portal.
- 11.2006 Artists.
- 12.Laura Sims - Bio.
- 13.Laura Sims | Fence Portal.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 September 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
39,529 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
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