Penguin Random House, author portrait placeholder image

John Freeman

John Freeman is the editor of Freeman's, a literary annual of new writing, and executive editor at Alfred A. Knopf. His books include How to Read a Novelist and Dictionary of the Undoing, as well as Tales of Two Americas, an anthology about income inequality in America, and Tales of Two Planets, an anthology of new writing about inequality and the climate crisis globally. He is also the author of two poetry collections, Maps and The Park. His work is translated into more than twenty languages, and has appeared in The New Yorker, The Paris Review, and The New York Times. The former editor of Granta, he teaches writing at New York University. His newest anthology, The Penguin Book of the International Short Story, will be published by Penguin Press in April 2026.
The Penguin Book of the International Short Story
The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story

Meet the Author: John Freeman (editor of TALES OF TWO AMERICAS)

Books

The Penguin Book of the International Short Story
The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story

Media

Meet the Author: John Freeman (editor of TALES OF TWO AMERICAS)

Books for Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month in March, we are sharing books by women who have shaped history and have fought for their communities. Our list includes books about women who fought for racial justice, abortion rights, equality in the workplace, and ranges in topics from women in politics and prominent women in history to

Read more

A Letter to Educators from John Freeman, Co-Editor of The Penguin Book of the International Short Story

By: John Freeman A few years ago, a friend and I were teaching classes on writing short fiction at the same time. He is from Lebanon, and I am from California, he is a small, fabulous man and every time I get a haircut my wife says you look like you’re in the CIA. But

Read more