When Watched Format: Paperback

A National Book Foundation 5 Under 35 Honoree
Whiting Award Winner
PEN/Hemingway Award Finalist
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Longlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction & The Story Prize

“Core captures a precious slice of what it is to be human. . . . She reaches moments of extraordinary grace.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Pick up this book and prepare to face sublime recognition.” —Rookie 

“Full of dazzling insight and empathy.” —Refinery 29

Refreshing, witty, and absolutely close to the heart, Core’s twenty stories, set in and around New York City, have an other-worldly quality along with a deep seriousness—even a moral seriousness. What we know of identity is smashed and in its place, true individuals emerge, each bristling with a unique sexuality, a belief-system all their own. Reminiscent of Jane Bowles, William Burroughs, and Colette, her writing glows with an authenticity that is intoxicating and rare.

Leopoldine Core was born and raised in New York's East Village and graduated from Hunter College. She is the author of the poetry collection Veronica Bench and the story collection When Watched, which was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Her fiction and poetry have appeared or are forthcoming in Joyland, Open City, PEN America, Apology Magazine and The Best American Short Stories, among others. She is the recipient of a Whiting Award for fiction, as well as fellowships from The Center for Fiction and The Fine Arts Work Center. She lives in New York.