Lev Raphael

Biography

Lev Raphael (Ph.D., English, Michigan State University) is the author of 25 books in many genres: memoir, mystery, literary fiction, short fiction, advice for writers, essay collections, historical fiction, horror, psychology, biography, a teacher’s guide, and literary criticism. Raphael earned an MFA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where he won the Harvey Swados Fiction Prize. His first book of short stories, Dancing on Tisha B’Av, won a Lambda Literary Award. Raphael has published hundreds of stories, essays, articles, and reviews in a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and journals—from Redbook to Reform Judaism. His short fiction and creative nonfiction have appeared in over two dozen anthologies in the US and England, and his writing is taught at colleges and universities in the US and Canada. He also blogs on books and cultural issues for The Huffington Post. Raphael is the resident book critic for WKAR, 90.5 FM, East Lansing’s NPR station. MSU’s Library collects his literary papers, and he teaches ENG 356: “Readings in Jewish Literature” and other courses in the English Department.