Press Kit

Bios

Very, Very Short

Allison Epstein is a historical fiction author and professional editor based in Chicago. She is the author of A Tip for the Hangman, Let the Dead Bury the Dead, and Fagin the Thief.

Standard Bio

Allison Epstein holds an MFA in fiction from Northwestern University and is the author of three historical novels. Her most recent novel, Fagin the Thief, received the 2026 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction and the American Library Association’s Sophy Brody medal, and was a finalist for the 2026 Edgar Award for Best Novel. A Michigan native, she now lives in Chicago, where she enjoys good theater, bad puns, and fancy jackets.

Longer Intro With Some Color

Allison Epstein is a historical fiction author who is passionate about making stories from the past accessible, inclusive, and exciting. Her most recent novel, Fagin the Thief, received the 2026 National Jewish Book Award for Fiction and the American Library Association’s Sophy Brody medal, and was a finalist for the 2026 Edgar Award for Best Novel, a 2026 Illinois Reads pick, and an Honor Book for the 2026 AJL Jewish Fiction Awards. Her previous books include the Elizabethan spy thriller A Tip for the Hangman and the Russian folklore-inspired Let the Dead Bury the Dead.

Allison also writes a biweekly Substack newsletter titled Dirtbags Through the Ages, which profiles the weirdest and wackiest figures from world history while making the worst puns you’ve ever read.

She earned her BA in creative writing and English literature from the University of Michigan and her MFA in fiction from Northwestern University. A Michigan native, she currently lives in Chicago, where she works as a content editor for a consulting firm and shares an apartment with what she’s fairly sure is the grouchiest cat in the city.