Episode 54
“It would not be hyperbole to say that this degree changed my life. The totality of my experiences there are something that I will thankfully carry with me for the rest of time.
It was such a pleasurable experience to be in community with these amazing professors and all of the other students from around the world, and to talk about books and read books and write books together. It was something I would do all over again if I could.”
Laurie L. Dove is the author of Mask of the Deer Woman, published by Penguin Random House in 2025. The book is a USA Today Bestseller that The New York Times called a “best new release” and The Seattle Times called “a powerful read for fans of dark, riveting stories rooted in justice and resilience.” The novel was featured in several industry publications, including Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Shelf Awareness.
Dove writes about the complexities of identity, belonging, and social justice, and “sensitively tackles the systemic crisis that has ripped apart so many Native American communities,” according to The New York Times. Dove is an award-winning journalist and professor. The second novel in the Carrie Starr series arrives in 2026.
Dove is a 2022 alumna of the Creative Writing and Literature ALM degree at Harvard Extension School. It was our great pleasure to speak with her about the origins of her current book (and the follow-up book it has inspired), the important role that Extension School instructors and fellow students played in the development of her writing, and much more!