Lauren Small is a writer and novelist with strong interests in social justice, narrative medicine, and the history of psychiatry. She earned a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and Master’s degrees in French and German at the Johns Hopkins University. She has taught French, German, English, literature and creative writing. Her scholarly work has appeared in journals such as German Quarterly and MLN. Her short fiction has appeared in Fiction, StoryQuarterly, and Partisan Review, among others. She has co-authored articles for Johns Hopkins Magazine and Hopkins Medicine. She is also a guest contributor to the “On Being” blog of American Public Radio and a Pushcart Prize nominee.

Small holds an appointment as assistant professor in pediatrics in the Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children’s Center at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, where she directs AfterWards, a program in narrative medicine. Through literature, art, and writing, AfterWards encourages care providers to consider the role of patient stories in delivering compassionate care. Small is co-author of a research paper on the ability of narrative medicine to build community and foster self-care, and has presented her work at national and local conferences. She also leads a creative writing group for in-patient teens in psychiatry.

Small’s new novel, Wolf Constellation, grapples with the legacy of mental illness in four generations of a Jewish family. She is currently at work on a novel about racism in Baltimore.

Contact: lsmall2@jhmi.edu