Ben Lerner

Ben Lerner is an American novelist, poet and essayist, best known for the highly acclaimed novels Leaving the Atocha Station and The Topeka School. Lerner was born and raised in Topeka, Kansas, and his hometown made a sufficient impression on him that it would feature in all of his works of poetry and take centre stage in Lerner’s rapturously received 2019 novel The Topeka School – which the author attended. Lerner first achieved critical success as a poet, producing three collections - The Lichtenberg Figures, Angle of Yaw and Mean Free Path – between 2004 and 2010. 2011 saw the publication of Lerner’s debut novel, Leaving the Atocha Station, about an American poet lying and deceiving his way around Madrid. Lerner’s second novel, 10:04, was published three years later to rave reviews and his latest work, The Topeka School, followed in 2019.