Keren Blankfeld Taqqu is an award-winning author whose work explores stories of resilience and identity. Her debut book, Lovers in Auschwitz: A True Story, was published by Little, Brown and Company in January 2024. An international bestseller, the book is being translated into 16 languages.

The granddaughter of four World War II refugees, Keren grew up hearing tales of partisans, hidden children, and orphans. Her grandparents were displaced in Eastern Europe before eventually rebuilding their lives in São Paulo, Brazil, where Keren was born. At age 12, she immigrated with her family to Houston, Texas.

Keren’s journalism has appeared in The New York Times, Forbes, Reuters, The Toronto Star, and other publications. Her reporting spans interviews with New York City DREAMers to profiles of billionaires and war survivors. She began her journalism career in 2005, covering everything from sewage plants in New Jersey to global power players at Forbes, where she served as a staff writer and editor.

She has appeared as a guest on CNN, BBC World News, and E! Entertainment, and in 2013, she worked in film and TV development as a creative executive at New Regency Productions.

Keren teaches reporting and writing at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she earned her MS. She also holds a BA in International Relations and English from Tufts University.

She lives in New York City with her husband and two sons and spends her free time running, drawing comics and making clay creatures with her kids.