Lee Conell

Lee Conell is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Creative Writing at SUNY Purchase College's School of Humanities. She is an award-winning author of the novel The Party Upstairs (Penguin Press) and the story collection Subcortical (Johns Hopkins University Press), recognized with prestigious literary honors including the Wallant Award and The Story Prize Spotlight Award.

• Education: MFA from Vanderbilt University; BA and MA from SUNY New Paltz

Her research and creative practice focuses on contemporary fiction, literary storytelling, and narrative experimentation in short-form and novel-length works. Her writing explores themes of identity, human relationships, and social dynamics, published in renowned journals such as Kenyon Review, ZYZZYVA, and Paris Review Daily.

Scientific Awards

• Wallant Award
• The Story Prize Spotlight Award
• NEA Fiction Fellowship
• Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship
• Japan-U.S. Creative Artist Fellowship
• Nelson Algren Award (Chicago Tribune)
• Shortlisted in Best American Short Stories
• Pushcart Prize anthology shortlist

Conell has received residencies and institutional support from Yaddo, Millay Arts, Willapa Bay AiR, the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Leadership, and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference.