Peter Hessler

In 1996, Peter Hessler was sent to China as a Peace Corps volunteer, an experience that became the subject of his first book, River Town. After moving to Beijing, Hessler became the New Yorker’s China correspondent, and with Oracle Bones and Country Driving, he completed a trilogy of nonfiction books about China. In 2011, Hessler moved with his family to Cairo, where he wrote about the events of the Egyptian Arab Spring. In 2019, Hessler returned to China, teaching at Sichuan University during the pandemic. His most recent book, Other Rivers, is about his time in Sichuan. Hessler lives with his wife and their twin daughters in southwestern Colorado.