Sipsworth

Simon Van Booy (born 1975) is an award-winning and bestselling author of over a dozen books for adults and children, including short stories, picture books, chapter books, and novels. He has also edited several works of philosophy. His books have been translated into over 18 languages and optioned for film. Among his best-known works are Love Begins in Winter: Five Stories (2009), winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, The Illusion of Separateness (2014), and The Presence of Absence (2022). Sipsworth received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Foreword Reviews.

Born in Wales, Van Booy arrived in the United States on a scholarship to play football for Campbellsville University in Kentucky. He teaches part-time and lectures frequently in the United States, United Kingdom, and China. He has also contributed essays to the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC, and other media. He owns pet mice, including one named Sipsworth, which inspired him to write the novel Sipsworth. Van Booy lives in New York City, where he is also a book editor and a volunteer EMT crew chief.