E.R. Ramzipoor
I’m a queer, first gen Iranian-American author. I think and write about the intersection of identity, technology, language, and power. I also think a lot about my dog Lada.
Where to find my short fiction:
Sad Robot, Slate: Future Tense
Conversation with Gertrude in Car, Age 20, North American Review (forthcoming Summer 2024)
Four, fractured lit
GRE Prompts from Famous Philosophers, McSweeney’s
My debut novel The Ventriloquists (Park Row Books/HarperCollins) came out in 2019. It was translated into multiple languages, nominated for awards, and optioned for film and TV.
Since then, my fiction has been appeared or is forthcoming in Slate: Future Tense, the North American Review, fractured lit, and McSweeney’s, my other writing has appeared in Salon and Forbes, and I’ve been interviewed by outlets like the East Bay Express and The Mercury News. I have an MFA from Brooklyn College, where I received the Irwin Lainoff Scholarship, the Renee Margulies Foundation Scholarship, and the Himan Brown Award.
These days, I teach writing for Hugo House and The Loft Literary Center, and I’m working on a novel and collection of short stories. My pronouns are they/them.
The Ventriloquists
“A compelling historical thriller that details... the remarkable saga of how 50,000 copies of a newspaper were published under the thumb of the Gestapo... Engrossing.”—Booklist, starred review
“Ramzipoor’s attention to the small details missed by larger tellings of history animate the book, and it’s the light of her perspective that makes it something worth reading, which will stay with you long after you’ve put it down.”—Sam Segan, Lambda Literary
“... astonishingly original ... The novel explodes with released suspense every few pages as the chapters and their subdivisions shift from character to character, setting to setting, and obstacle to obstacle ... Ramzipoor’s control over the manipulation of time-sensitive information is splendid, and the results are magnetic.”—Philiip K. Jason, The Washington Independent Review of Books
“A carefully woven narrative that combines irony and pathos, The Ventriloquists allows a view into a world that we didn't know existed.” —Jean Zimmerman, NPR
“Funny, sad, and poignant in its telling. I cannot recommend this story highly enough.”—Heather Morris, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz
“Art and artifice, life and death, collide powerfully in The Ventriloquists. Eloquently reminding us that self-expression is the truest form of survival, E.R. Ramzipoor has made an unforgettable and important contribution to the canon of Holocaust literature.”—Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale
“The clock starts hammering on page one as Ramzipoor brilliantly gives a lost moment of history voice, flesh, and soul.”—Devin Murphy, national bestselling author of The Boat Runner
This is Lada.
Get in touch.
e.r.ramzipoor@gmail.com