Elena Passarello is a writer, performer, teacher, and the winner of a Whiting Award in nonfiction. Her essays on pop culture and the natural world have been translated into six languages. She is the author of two collections: Let Me Clear My Throat (about notorious human voices) and Animals Strike Curious Poses (about famous non-human animals). Animals Strike Curious Poses was a New York Times Editor’s Choice and made the best books of the year lists at Publisher’s Weekly, The Guardian, and others. Outside named Passarello one of the “25 Essential Women Authors Writing about the Wild.” Her work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, National Geographic, Paris Review, Audubon, and Best American Science and Nature Writing. She teaches in the University of Iowa’s Nonfiction Writing program, which is also her alma mater, and appears every week on public radio stations across America as the co-host of PRX’s Live Wire! Her book on Elvis Presley’s motley movie career will be published by Penguin next year.

Passarello will visit Colgate as part of the 2026 Living Writers series.  This series is hosted by the Department of English and Creative Writing with generous support provided by the Parshley Christ Endowment for Living Writers, the Olive B. O'Connor Foundation, as well as the Offices of the Provost/Dean and the Office of the President.

If you are unable to attend the author visit, you can sign up to join virtually.

View the complete list of author visits.