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Profile

Alison Kinney (she/her) is the author of three nonfiction books:ÌýAvidly Reads Opera;ÌýHood; andÌýthe forthcomingÌýUnited States of Rejection: A Story of Love, Hate & HopeÌý(UGA Press, May 2026).ÌýThis cultural history is a love-hate story about personal and political relationships in the United States, told through the intimate stories of both the rejectors and the rejected: lovers, families, neighbors, and a nation and its people. Although we’re taught not to care about others’ opinions, rejection always hurts, and it hurts some people a lot more than others. To prove it, this book marshals contemporary neuroscience, the Founding Fathers’ rejection advice, and four centuries of personal narratives, many of them hilarious, many more heartbreaking. These rejection and acceptance stories span loving and disastrous American first encounters, soldiers and dancers rejected on front lines and chorus lines, playground bullies invoked before the Senate, and generations of lovers and patriots battling or swiping right to defend their loved ones and their country.

Alison's essays and articles have appeared online and/or in print at The NewYorker.com, The Paris Review Daily, Harper's, Lapham's Quarterly, The New York Times, The Guardian, VAN Magazine, and other publications. Five of her essays have been named Notable Essays inÌýThe Best American Essays.

Alison teaches undergrad nonfiction writing workshops and electives ("Hope Springs: Writing, Ecology & Justice" and "Professional Writing Practices") at Lang.

Degrees Held

MFA, Creative Writing, The New School

Recent Publications

• UNITED STATES OF REJECTION (UGA Press, forthcoming May 1 2026):Ìý. For tour dates, see alisonkinney.com/eventsÌý
• "The Rejection Lab" (Gay Magazine):Ìý
• AVIDLY READS OPERA (NYU Press, 2021):Ìý

Performances and Appearances

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Research Interests

Creative nonfiction, cultural history, essay, memoir, social justice, literature, ecology, arts commentary.

Portfolio