Rachel Beanland’s second novel, The House Is on Fire, which is based on the true story of the 1811 Richmond Theater fire, is out now from Simon & Schuster. Beanland’s debut novel, Florence Adler Swims Forever, was selected as a book club pick by Barnes & Noble, a featured debut by Amazon, an Indie Next pick by the American Booksellers Association, and one of the best books of 2020 by USA Today. It was also named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and was recognized with the 2020 National Jewish Book Award for Debut Fiction. Beanland earned her MFA in creative writing from Virginia Commonwealth University and lives in Richmond, Virginia where she will be the 2023-24 Writer-in-Residence at University of Richmond.