Rachel Seiffert is a highly acclaimed literary fiction author, based in London. She is best known for her bestselling novel, "The Dark Room," which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and later adapted into the feature film "Lore." Seiffert's work has been praised for its insightful exploration of ordinary lives in extraordinary times.
Seiffert is considered one of Virago's most critically acclaimed contemporary novelists. After "The Dark Room," she was named one of Granta's Best of Young British Novelists in 2003. She received the EM Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2011. In addition to "The Dark Room," Seiffert has published several other highly regarded works, including "Field Study," "Afterwards," "The Walk Home," and "A Boy in Winter." All of these works have been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction and have been translated into eighteen languages.
Seiffert's writing is characterized by her exploration of complex moral issues and her ability to bring depth and nuance to her characters. She has written about a wide range of subjects, including the experiences of a 12-year-old daughter of an SS officer in 1945, a Polish seasonal worker on a German asparagus farm after the fall of the iron curtain, and a young Ukrainian man faced with the choice between resistance and collaboration during the Nazi occupation.
In addition to her work as a novelist, Seiffert has also been actively involved in teaching creative writing. She has taught at Goldsmiths College and Glasgow University, and has delivered seminars at several other institutions, including the Humboldt University Berlin, Manchester University, and the Faber Academy in London. She has a particular interest in teaching writing in schools and has worked with a number of organizations to deliver workshops and residencies in a variety of settings. Currently, she is the Writer in Residence at Haseltine School in SE26 and works with First Story at St Martin in the Fields Secondary in Tulse Hill.