Photo: Sebastiàn Freire
Maxine Swann is the author of three novels: Flower Children, Serious Girls, and The Foreigners. She received a Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters and her stories have been featured in The Best American Short Stories, O’Henry Prize Stories and Pushcart Prize Stories. Her nonfiction has been optioned for film and television. She has taught creative writing at Barnard College in New York and currently teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. Born in Pennsylvania, she has been living in Buenos Aires since 2001 and is a founding editor of the bilingual cultural magazine The Buenos Aires Review. Since 2019, she has been a member of a drag king theater company and is currently writing a memoir about her drag king experience.
In 2019, I signed up for a drag king workshop and my life took a dramatic swerve. To be clear what we’re talking about, a drag king traditionally means a cis-gender woman who impersonates a man, but a drag king can be anyone, regardless of gender, who consciously makes a performance out of masculinity. Think of a drag queen, but in reverse. If you enjoyed my Modern Love, «Why I Dress (and Act) Like a Man», follow me to hear more about my drag king’s adventures on Substack: maxineswann@substack.com and Instagram: @maxiecisne
Photo: Sebastiàn Freire
BIO
Photo: Sebastiàn Freire
Maxine Swann is the author of three novels: Flower Children, Serious Girls, and The Foreigners. She has received a Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters and her stories have been featured in The Best American Short Stories, O’Henry Prize Stories, Pushcart Prize Stories, and the series Selected Shorts. Her New York Times Magazine article “The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble” was chosen for Longform’s “Most Entertaining of 2013,” and optioned for a feature film by Fox Searchlight. She has taught creative writing at Barnard College in New York, The Walrus School in Buenos Aires and currently teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. Born in Pennsylvania, she has been living in Buenos Aires since 2001 and is a founding editor of the bilingual cultural magazine The Buenos Aires Review.
Photo: Sebastiàn Freire
In 2019, I signed up for a drag king workshop and my life took a dramatic swerve. To be clear what we’re talking about, a drag king traditionally means a cis-gender woman who impersonates a man, but a drag king can be anyone, regardless of gender, who consciously makes a performance out of masculinity. Think of a drag queen, but in reverse. If you enjoyed my Modern Love, «Why I Dress (and Act) Like a Man», follow me to hear more about my drag king’s adventures on Substack: maxineswann@substack.com and Instagram: @maxiecisne
Bio
Photo: Sebastiàn Freire
Maxine Swann is the author of three novels: Flower Children, Serious Girls, and The Foreigners. She has received a Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters and her stories have been featured in The Best American Short Stories, O’Henry Prize Stories, Pushcart Prize Stories, and the series Selected Shorts. Her New York Times Magazine article “The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble” was chosen for Longform’s “Most Entertaining of 2013,” and optioned for a feature film by Fox Searchlight. She has taught creative writing at Barnard College in New York, The Walrus School in Buenos Aires and currently teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. Born in Pennsylvania, she has been living in Buenos Aires since 2001 and is a founding editor of the bilingual cultural magazine The Buenos Aires Review.
BOOKS
The children run free all day, climb apple trees, ride ponies, press their faces into showers of leaves, rub mud all over their bodies and sit out in the sun to let it dry. When their parents invite other adults for skinny-dipping in the creek, the children memorize all the body parts to discuss among themselves. Begun as a widely celebrated short story that announced a captivating new literary voice, Flower Children is a funny, heartrending novel about four children growing up in rural Pennsylvania, the offspring of devout hippies.
In Serious Girls, sixteen year olds Maya and Roe form an intense friendship when they find themselves cast as outsiders at an all girls boarding school. Sharing their life stories, and curiosity about the adult world, they wonder how they might become «people» with style and character as opposed to school girls. When they move beyond the enclosed world of the school to experience the city, and relationships with men, both girls test the line between an emerging sense of self and its total disintegration.
In The Foreigners, three women experience an awakening in the gloriously conflicted city of Buenos Aires: Daisy, an American divorcèe, Isolde, a beautiful, lonely Austrian and Vera, a Ukrainian mother who has escaped a dark reality in her own country. Against the backdrop of this shimmering and decadent city – almost a character in itself – Maxine Swann has created a glittering narrative of compulsive desire that simultaneously explores with remarkable acuity what it means and how it feels to be foreign.
BOOKS
The children run free all day, climb apple trees, ride ponies, press their faces into showers of leaves, rub mud all over their bodies and sit out in the sun to let it dry. When their parents invite other adults for skinny-dipping in the creek, the children memorize all the body parts to discuss among themselves. Begun as a widely celebrated short story that announced a captivating new literary voice, Flower Children is a funny, heartrending novel about four children growing up in rural Pennsylvania, the offspring of devout hippies.
In Serious Girls, sixteen year olds Maya and Roe form an intense friendship when they find themselves cast as outsiders at an all girls boarding school. Sharing their life stories, and curiosity about the adult world, they wonder how they might become «people» with style and character as opposed to school girls. When they move beyond the enclosed world of the school to experience the city, and relationships with men, both girls test the line between an emerging sense of self and its total disintegration.
In The Foreigners, three women experience an awakening in the gloriously conflicted city of Buenos Aires: Daisy, an American divorcèe, Isolde, a beautiful, lonely Austrian and Vera, a Ukrainian mother who has escaped a dark reality in her own country. Against the backdrop of this shimmering and decadent city – almost a character in itself – Maxine Swann has created a glittering narrative of compulsive desire that simultaneously explores with remarkable acuity what it means and how it feels to be foreign.
Books
The children run free all day, climb apple trees, ride ponies, press their faces into showers of leaves, rub mud all over their bodies and sit out in the sun to let it dry. When their parents invite other adults for skinny-dipping in the creek, the children memorize all the body parts to discuss among themselves. Begun as a widely celebrated short story that announced a captivating new literary voice, Flower Children is a funny, heartrending novel about four children growing up in rural Pennsylvania, the offspring of devout hippies.
In Serious Girls, sixteen year olds Maya and Roe form an intense friendship when they find themselves cast as outsiders at an all girls boarding school. Sharing their life stories, and curiosity about the adult world, they wonder how they might become «people» with style and character as opposed to school girls. When they move beyond the enclosed world of the school to experience the city, and relationships with men, both girls test the line between an emerging sense of self and its total disintegration.
In The Foreigners, three women experience an awakening in the gloriously conflicted city of Buenos Aires: Daisy, an American divorcèe, Isolde, a beautiful, lonely Austrian and Vera, a Ukrainian mother who has escaped a dark reality in her own country. Against the backdrop of this shimmering and decadent city – almost a character in itself – Maxine Swann has created a glittering narrative of compulsive desire that simultaneously explores with remarkable acuity what it means and how it feels to be foreign.
ARTICLES
Why I Dress (and Act) Like a Man, New York Times, Modern Love
Tired of being deferential to men in my relationships, I decided to create my own drag king persona.
The Professor, the Bikini Model
and the Suitcase Full of Trouble, The New York Times Magazine
A world-renowned physicist meets a gorgeous model online. They plan their perfect life together. But first, she asks, would he be so kind as to deliver a special package to her?
AT HOME ABROAD Crisis and Renewal, The New York Times
The author moved to Buenos Aires with her Argentine husband in 2001, they divorced a few years later but she decided to stay on.
The Coast of Utopia, The New York Times Style Magazine
In Cabo Polonio, a remote beach village in southeastern Uruguay where there’s no electricity, squatters have been building whimsical homes since the 1960s.
I Love Dick on television marks the rise of the female loser, The Guardian
Amazon’s series based on Chris Kraus’ 1997 comic novel presents a new type of female life – an unsettling vision of a radical loser that should be celebrated.
House of Mirth, Vogue
When her young life started going sideways, Maxine Swann took the cure at her grandparents’ twelve-bedroom manor house out of a Wharton novel, where eccentricity was embraced.
At Barnard, One Generation of Writers Nurtures the Next, New York Times
Eleven students were sitting around a table at Barnard College expressly to learn how to write fiction, and their teacher, the novelist Maxine Swann, told them, “I cannot teach you to write.”
Buenos Aires, take two, Buenos Aires Herald
Returning to Buenos Aires with a newborn, the author discovers a whole other side of the city she loves and calls home.
ARTICLES
Why I Dress (and Act) Like a Man, New York Times, Modern Love
Tired of being deferential to men in my relationships, I decided to create my own drag king persona.
The Professor, the Bikini Model
and the Suitcase Full of Trouble, The New York Times Magazine
A world-renowned physicist meets a gorgeous model online. They plan their perfect life together. But first, she asks, would he be so kind as to deliver a special package to her?
(READ MORE)
AT HOME ABROAD Crisis and Renewal, The New York Times
The author moved to Buenos Aires with her Argentine husband in 2001, they divorced a few years later but she decided to stay on.
(READ MORE)
The Coast of Utopia, The New York Times Style Magazine
In Cabo Polonio, a remote beach village in southeastern Uruguay where there’s no electricity, squatters have been building eclectic homes since the 1960s.
(READ MORE)
I Love Dick on television marks the rise of the female loser, The Guardian
Amazon’s series based on Chris Kraus’ 1997 comic novel presents a new type of female life – an unsettling vision of a radical loser that should be celebrated.
(READ MORE)
House of Mirth, Vogue
When her young life started going sideways, Maxine Swann took the cure at her grandparents’ twelve-bedroom manor house out of a Wharton novel, where eccentricity was embraced.
(READ MORE)
At Barnard, One Generation of Writers Nurtures the Next, New York Times
Eleven students were sitting around a table at Barnard College expressly to learn how to write fiction, and their teacher, the novelist Maxine Swann, told them, “I cannot teach you to write.”
(READ MORE)
Buenos Aires, take two, Buenos Aires Herald
Returning to Buenos Aires with a newborn, the author discovers a whole other side of the city she loves and calls home.
Articles
The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble, The New York Times Magazine
A world-renowned physicist meets a gorgeous model online. They plan their perfect life together. But first, she asks, would he be so kind as to deliver a special package to her?
(READ MORE)
AT HOME ABROAD Crisis and Renewal, The New York Times
The author moved to Buenos Aires with her Argentine husband in 2001, they divorced a few years later but she decided to stay on.
(READ MORE)
The Coast of Utopia, The New York Times Style Magazine
In Cabo Polonio, a remote beach village in southeastern Uruguay where there’s no electricity, squatters have been building eclectic, whimsical homes since the 1960s.
(READ MORE)
I Love Dick on television marks the rise of the female loser, The Guardian
Amazon’s series based on Chris Kraus’ 1997 comic novel presents a new type of female life – an unsettling vision of a radical loser that should be celebrated.
(READ MORE)
House of Mirth, Vogue
When her young life started going sideways, Maxine Swann took the cure at her grandparents’ twelve-bedroom manor house out of a Wharton novel, where eccentricity was embraced.
(READ MORE)
At Barnard, One Generation of Writers Nurtures the Next, New York Times
Eleven students were sitting around a table at Barnard College expressly to learn how to write fiction, and their teacher, the novelist Maxine Swann, told them, “I cannot teach you to write.”
(READ MORE)
Buenos Aires, take two, Buenos Aires Herald
Returning to Buenos Aires with a newborn, the author discovers a whole other side of the city she loves and calls home.
(READ MORE)
BOOK
REVIEWS
COACHING /
EDITING
Informed by my twenty-five years of teaching creative writing, I offer sensitive, personalized attention to my clients at whatever point they find themselves on the writing path. Whether they’re just starting out, stuck in the middle or polishing a manuscript, I work closely with short story writers, novelists, memoirists and writers of non-fiction to achieve their writing goals. Services include weekly or monthly classes, manuscript assessments, editing of individual pieces or book-length projects, and may also entail, as needed, discussions about method and process, exercises to inspire or break through writer’s block, and reading recommendations.
Working with Maxine was a delight. She has that magic quality you only find in top-tier editors – the ability to help you make your book better while leaving no fingerprints.
Paul Wilborn on his short story collection, «Cigar City Confidential»
Maxine helped me revise a very unwieldy and ambitious piece of writing. Through the process of her thoughtful feedback, the story took shape and ultimately became my first published work. I learned a lot and am beyond grateful to her!
Zoë Dutka on her first publication, a non-fiction essay for n+1
No part of this project would have been possible without the eternal loveliness and grace and wisdom of Maxine Swann.
Jennifer Croft on her memoir «Homesick»
COACHING /
EDITING
Informed by my twenty-five years of teaching creative writing, I offer sensitive, personalized attention to my clients at whatever point they find themselves on the writing path. Whether they’re just starting out, stuck in the middle or polishing a manuscript, I work closely with short story writers, novelists, memoirists and writers of non-fiction to achieve their writing goals. Services include weekly or monthly classes, manuscript assessments, editing of individual pieces or book-length projects, and may also entail, as needed, discussions about method and process, exercises to inspire or break through writer’s block, and reading recommendations.
“Working with Maxine was a delight. She has that magic quality you only find in top-tier editors – the ability to help you make your book better while leaving no fingerprints.”
Paul Wilborn on his short story collection, Cigar City Confidential
“Maxine helped me revise a very unwieldy and ambitious piece of writing. Through the process of her thoughtful feedback, the story took shape and ultimately became my first published work. I learned a lot and am beyond grateful to her!”
Zoë Dutka on her first publication, a non-fiction essay for n+1
«No part of this project would have been possible without the eternal loveliness and grace and wisdom of Maxine Swann.»
Jennifer Croft on her memoir Homesick
Coaching /
Editing
Informed by my twenty-five years of teaching creative writing, I offer sensitive, personalized attention to my clients at whatever point they find themselves on the writing path. Whether they’re just starting out, stuck in the middle or polishing a manuscript, I work closely with short story writers, novelists, memoirists and writers of non-fiction to achieve their writing goals. Services include weekly or monthly classes, manuscript assessments, editing of individual pieces or book-length projects, and may also entail, as needed, discussions about method and process, exercises to inspire or break through writer’s block, and reading recommendations.
“Working with Maxine was a delight. She has that magic quality you only find in top-tier editors – the ability to help you make your book better while leaving no fingerprints.”
Paul Wilborn on his short story collection, Cigar City Confidential
“Maxine helped me revise a very unwieldy and ambitious piece of writing. Through the process of her thoughtful feedback, the story took shape and ultimately became my first published work. I learned a lot and am beyond grateful to her!”
Zoë Dutka on her first publication, a non-fiction essay for n+1
«No part of this project would have been possible without the eternal loveliness and grace and wisdom of Maxine Swann.»
Jennifer Croft on her memoir Homesick
CONTACT
Maxine Swann
