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Deb Olin Unferth

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

https://www.debolinunferth.com

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Memoir, Contemporary

Member Since

February 2020

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Deb Olin Unferth is the author of six books, including the novel Barn 8 and the story collection Wait Till You See Me Dance. Her work has appeared in Harper’s, The Paris Review, Granta, Vice, NOON, the New York Times, and McSweeney’s. She has received a Guggenheim fellowship, a Creative Capital grant, three Pushcart Prizes, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. An associate professor at the University of Texas in Austin, she also runs the Pen City Writers, a creative writing program at a penitentiary in southern Texas.

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Combine Editions
Deb Olin Unferth’s books

Average rating: 3.65 · 7,529 ratings · 1,381 reviews · 26 distinct works • Similar authors

	Barn 8 3.51 avg rating — 3,207 ratings — published 2020 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Vacation 3.63 avg rating — 1,107 ratings — published 2008 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wait Till You See Me Dance 3.88 avg rating — 714 ratings — published 2017 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Revolution: The Year I Fell in Love and Went to Join the War 3.52 avg rating — 413 ratings — published 2011 — 8 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	I, Parrot: A Graphic Novel by Deb Olin Unferth (Goodreads Author), Elizabeth Haidle (Illustrator) 3.11 avg rating — 349 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Earth 7 3.77 avg rating — 233 ratings — published 2026 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Minor Robberies 3.99 avg rating — 90 ratings — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Likeable 3.66 avg rating — 80 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	PANK 5 4.23 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2011	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Happy Green Family 3.40 avg rating — 10 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Deb is now friends with Emma Alden
May 13, 2026 11:09AM · like
Deb made a comment on Demetri Papadimitropoulos’s review of Earth 7 " this is incredible -- you painted these gorgeous watercolors? I love them. "
Apr 25, 2026 08:47AM · see review
Deb is now following Sarah Gerard and Demetri Papadimitropoulos
Feb 25, 2026 09:14AM
Deb liked Uriel’s status update Uriel Perez has read Simple Passion
Feb 22, 2026 04:02PM
Deb rated a book it was amazing Dwelling by Emily Hunt Kivel	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Brilliant, hilarious, addictive reading. Beautiful storytelling, great energy. Very moving. Her first book, too, which is cool. A new voice. Feels very much in conversation with these dark times.
Feb 02, 2025 12:24PM · 7 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Dwelling by Emily Hunt Kivel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Dwelling by Emily Hunt Kivel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Deb rated a book it was amazing The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Jul 15, 2024 06:56AM · 3 likes · like

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Quotes by Deb Olin Unferth (?)

“You know how it is to want something. Desire builds like a little house in your head and it sits there, half-constructed in your mind. Women who want children are this way. Artists are this way about pictures. It doesn't go away. You may forget for a few months but then it's back, the unfinished pieces of what you want.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Vacation

10 likes

“Humans, we just hop out of things, off things. We splatter ourselves in inappropriate places. Because we have nothing to live for. Because we want to destroy what we can. Because we want to be something we can’t. Because we don’t really believe we can die.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Vacation

tags: humans, life

7 likes

“It takes bravery to care for someone — no matter who he is or what made him, whether he is weak or walking or jumping out of windows. The risk involved is enormous.”
― Deb Olin Unferth, Vacation

6 likes

See all Deb Olin Unferth's quotes »

Polls

What book will we read together in August?

Cathedrals by Claudia Piñeiro - 304 pages - published 9 June 2026

3 votes, 33.3%

Ada by Mark Haber - 112 pages - published 14 July 2026

3 votes, 33.3%

Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth -248 pages - published 9 June 2026

2 votes, 22.2%

The Home of the Drowned by Elin Anna Labba - 352 pages - published 2 June 2026

1 vote, 11.1%

Questions 27 & 28 by Karen Tei Yamashita - 464 pages - published 28 April 2026

0 votes, 0.0%

The Pelican Child: Stories by Joy Williams - 176 pages - published 18 November 2025

0 votes, 0.0%

9 total votes

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