Order of Lauren Wilkinson Books

Lauren Wilkinson is an American author who debuted on the scene with her debut novel, American Spy. The book was highly praised ahead of release and lead to the book being selected as one of the New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2019.

In addition to her work as an author, Wilkinson also has taught writing at Columbia University and the Fashion Institute of Technology. She was a fellowship recipient in 2013 when she was a 2013 Center for Fiction Emerging Writer’s Fellow, and has received support from both the MacDowell Colony and the Djerassi Resident Artists Program to bring her work to life. She had previously been published as a writer of fiction and essays in Granta, The Believer, and The Millions, among other publications. Lauren lives and writes in New York City on the Lower East Side.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

If You Like Lauren Wilkinson Books, You’ll Love…

• Jeanine Cummins
• Sally Rooney
• Ann Patchett

American Spy was Wilkinson’s debut novel that was named one of the best books of the year by multiple outlets. The book takes place in 1986 during the Cold War and Marie Mitchell is an intelligence officer for the FBI. She’s a young black woman working in an era that is dominated by men, mostly white. She finds herself constantly overlook for promotions and finds her days filled with more paperwork than anything. This leads her to accepting an opportunity to join a a shadowy task force aimed at undermining Thomas Sankara, the charismatic revolutionary president of Burkina Faso whose Communist ideology has made him a target for American intervention. Marie actually admires a lot that Sankara is doing for his country, but she is quick to accept the job. Marie is selected for her looks as much as anything as she is given the job to observe Sankara, seduce him, and bring him down. Doing her job might mean changing everything she believes about herself and her country.