Picture an American storyteller who weaves tales of survival and surreal wilderness—meet Diane Cook! With her sharp wit and unflinching gaze at humanity’s raw edges, Cook has carved a unique space in literary fiction. From her haunting short story collection Man V. Nature to her Booker Prize-shortlisted novel The New Wilderness, she’s a voice that demands attention, blending dark humor with post-apocalyptic dread.
The Making of Diane Cook
Born in the United States, Diane Cook’s path to literary stardom was anything but conventional. After studying fiction in college, she took a detour into radio, joining the inaugural Radio cohort at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland, Maine, in 2000. Her work as a producer for This American Life honed her knack for storytelling, capturing human quirks and struggles. Later, she earned an MFA from Columbia University, where she began shaping her distinctive voice, one that pits humans against nature’s unforgiving whims.
Diane Cook’s Unforgettable Stories
Cook burst onto the literary scene with Man V. Nature (2014), a short story collection that’s equal parts absurd and profound. Finalist for the Guardian First Book Award and the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award, it explores humanity’s primal urges in dystopian settings—think flooded worlds and surreal survival tales. Critics praised its bold, bawdy humor and unflinching look at civilization’s fragility. Her debut novel, The New Wilderness (2020), took things further, earning a spot on the 2020 Booker Prize shortlist. This gripping tale follows Bea and her daughter Agnes, who flee a polluted city for a nomadic life in the last wilderness, grappling with maternal love and nature’s harsh realities. Cook’s style is vivid yet matter-of-fact, weaving ecological horror with heartfelt human connections. Her stories, published in Harper’s, Tin House, and Granta, often feature characters teetering between savagery and tenderness, making her a master of speculative fiction with a literary edge.
Her work doesn’t shy away from tough questions: How far would you go to survive? What does it mean to be human when nature fights back? With a nod to fabulism in her stories and stark realism in her novel, Cook’s narratives feel like memories of places you’ve never been, haunting and alive.
Why Diane Cook Matters
Diane Cook’s impact lies in her ability to make us rethink our place in the world. Her climate fiction—or “CliFi”—resonates in an era of environmental anxiety, offering a lens on humanity’s fraught relationship with nature. The New Wilderness has been hailed as a must-read for its blend of adventure, allegory, and emotional depth, inspiring readers to confront survival’s moral dilemmas. Her radio background infuses her prose with a conversational intimacy, while her awards, including a 2016 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, affirm her literary prowess. Cook’s stories don’t just entertain—they challenge us to face the wild within.
- Born: United States
- Key Works: Man V. Nature (2014), The New Wilderness (2020)
- Awards: Finalist for Guardian First Book Award, 2020 Booker Prize shortlist, 2016 NEA Fellowship
Snag The New Wilderness and dive into Diane Cook’s thrilling, thought-provoking world of literary fiction!