Dara Horn, born on January 1, 1977, is a female American novelist, essayist, professor of literature, university teacher, writer, and podcaster specializing in Jewish literature and history. Raised in an Orthodox Jewish home, she earned a doctorate in comparative literature from Harvard University, focusing on Yiddish and Hebrew literature. She has taught courses in these languages at Sarah Lawrence College and Yeshiva University, and held the Gerald Weinstock Visiting position. Her debut novel, In the Image, was published by W.W. Norton when she was 25 and received the 2002 Edward Lewis Wallant Award, the 2003 National Jewish Book Award, and the 2003 Reform Judaism Fiction Prize. Horn has authored five novels overall, along with the 2021 nonfiction essay collection People Love Dead Jews, which explores how antisemitism is normalized and was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in nonfiction. She has won additional National Jewish Book Awards in 2006 and 2021, as well as the 2007 Harold U. Ribalow Prize. A prominent voice on antisemitism and Jewish identity, her work often explores connections between modern and ancient Jewish lives, bridging American and Eastern European contexts.