Jake Lamar

He is the author of a memoir, seven novels, numerous essays, reviews and short stories, and a play. His most recent work, Viper's Dream, is both a crime novel and a radio drama, set in the jazz world of Harlem between 1936 and 1961. He is a recipient of the Lyndhurst Prize (for his first book, Bourgeois Blues), a prestigious Centre National du Livre grant (for his novel Postérité), France’s Grand Prize for best foreign thriller (for his novel The Last Integrationist), and a Beaumarchais fellowship for his play Brothers in Exile. He is currently working on a memoir about his life in Paris.

From January to June 2019, Jake Lamar enjoyed the link between the Institute for Ideas and Imagination and Sciences Po, where he directed a creative writing workshop. Lamar used his office at the Institute to read and critique the 60 short stories his students produced in the course of semester. He also held regular office hours at the Institute where he met with students individually to discuss their work in detail. Aside from his Sciences Po course, Lamar used the office to work on revisions of his upcoming novel Viper's Dream. Jake continues to occupy an office at the Institute.

Jake Lamar was born in 1961 and grew up in the Bronx, New York. After graduating from Harvard University, he spent six years writing for Time magazine. He has lived in Paris since 1993 and teaches creative writing at one of France's top universities, Sciences Po.