Deborah Landau was educated at Stanford University, Columbia University, and Brown University, where she was a Javits Fellow and received a PhD in English and American literature. She co-hosts "Open Book" on Slate.com and is the Director of the NYU Creative Writing Program. Landau is the author of THE LAST USABLE HOUR (Copper Canyon Press, 2011) and ORCHIDELIRIUM (Anhinga Press, 2004). She lives in the Soho neighborhood of New York City.