author : Rachel KushnerRachel Kushner's debut novel, Telex from Cuba, was a finalist for the 2008 National Book Award and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. Her second novel, The Flamethrowers, was a finalist for the 2013 National Book Award. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013. Her fiction and essays have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Believer, and Grand Street.