Lauren Acampora is an American author and professor. She is the author of the novel The Paper Wasp, which was a finalist for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction. She is also the author of the short story collection The Wonder Garden, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Acampora is an assistant professor of English at the University of New Haven and teaches creative writing. She has been published in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Paris Review, and other publications. Acampora is a graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Michigan. She is currently working on her second novel.