Photo taken by: Ken Browar

Simon Van Booy was born in London and grew up in rural Wales and Oxford.  After playing football in Kentucky, he lived in Paris and Athens.  He is the author of The Secret Lives of People in Love and Love Begins in Winter, which in 2009 won the International Frank O’Connor Prize.  He is also the editor of three forthcoming Harper Perennial philosophy books entitled, Why We Fight, Why We Need Love, and Why Our Decisions Don’t Matter.  His essays have been published in newspapers like The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph and The Times (London).  He lives in New York City where he lectures at the School of Visual Arts, and is involved in the Rutgers Early College Humanities program (REaCH) for young adults living in under-served communities.  His books have been translated into eight different languages.