Elizabeth A. Harris

Elizabeth Allen Harris is an American journalist and reporter for The New York Times.

Early life Harris grew up in New York City, New York, United States. After high school, Harris attended Oberlin College: a small, private, college located in Oberlin, Ohio. Harris graduated and obtained a Bachelors of Arts degree in English in 2005. In 2011, Harris married Kelly Kleinert. During Harris's time at the Metro Desk and as an Appraisal Columnist she reported on tax breaks for multi-million dollar condos in New York City, gentrification, and how garbage disposals impact real estate. In 2011 Harris's title was an Intermediate Reporter at The New York Times. As an Intermediate Reporter, in 2011, Harris wrote The New York Timess article reporting on the death of Osama Bin Laden.

In 2013, Harris was added as a staffer to The New York Times Business Desk, working on a range of topics there, including deals and holiday sales. During her time working at the Culture Desk, she worked on a variety of topics, including hidden money in the Museum Industry, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' influence in the movie industry, and the high profile R. Kelly case throughout 2019. Afterwards in 2019, Harris was invited onto The New York Times news podcast, The Daily, which was rated the No. 1 podcast every month in 2019 and the most downloaded show on Apple podcasts in 2018. As a guest during the podcast episode, "Confronting a Childhood Abuser", Harris reported on her experience interviewing whistleblowers of the situation.

Harris also reported on the high profile R. Kelly case in 2019, where R. Kelly was arrested for both Federal child pornography charges and obstruction charges in Chicago. Harris also reported on Kelly's use of a legal tool called, a Non-disclosure agreement, as well as other high profile individuals such as Harvey Weinstein and Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) during their accusations of sexual abuse or harassment. Harris also spoke about the case on WNYC, New York City's Public Radio Station.

Books Desk: 2020–present In 2020, Harris was brought in to the Books Desk at The New York Times; she was named a publishing reporter as her official title. This article was deemed an "A1" article by The New York Times, meaning that it is featured on the front page of the newspaper edition or significant headline in an online setting. Harris has reported on the rise of this situation in public libraries and school libraries in the article, "Book Bans are Rising Sharply in Public Libraries" This article written alongside Alexandra Alter, was referenced in multiple scholarly research journals, including articles published within ResearchGate's online journal in February 2025 and Taylor & Francis's 32nd Volume in June 2024. The article was also referenced by the civil rights group, PEN America in April 2024, and it was also referenced in September 2025 by the University of Colorado Law School's Law review.

Writing (Fiction)

Debut novel: How to Sleep at Night In 2025, Harris became a published novelist with her debut novel, How to Sleep at Night. Harris worked on writing the novel and publishing it while simultaneously continuing her work as a publishing reporter for the Books Desk at The New York Times. William Morrow and Company is an imprint of HarperCollins Publishing that works with both fiction and nonfiction publishers. How to Sleep at Night is published under the following genres: Novels, Political Fiction, Queer Fiction.

Reception After Harris released How to Sleep at Night, it received national attention from major newspapers and book reviewers such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Review of Books, and Kirkus Reviews. The reviews discuss the underlying themes of the work and the setting of modern day politics. Harris also attended the 2025 Library of Congress National Book Festival. Harris attended a book signing event and a speaking event with Jess Walter, her speaking event was moderated by Miwa Messer on September 6, 2025. Both events were held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. In an interview with Shelf Awareness, Harris states that her favorite authors that have inspired her are: Virginia Woolf, Louise Glück, James McBride (writer), Lauren Groff, and Ada Limón.

Harris also has written in the Writer's Digest and Literary Hub about what she has learned herself about the book business from her experiences publishing a novel. Harris explains that she believes her time as a reporter has transformed her writing abilities. Harris was a member of a team that won a medallion and award from The Silurians Press Club in 2024 for her reporting work at The New York Times. Harris also won the 2023 NLGJA Awards from the NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. Harris won the "Excellence in Newswriting Award" from the NLGJA for her reporting on Book banning in the United States (2021–present); including her works with The New York Times: "Book Banning in the United States: Targeting LGBTQ Themes and Communities" and "With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack".

Literary awards and honors Harris was selected as a Featured Author for the 2025 National Book Festival. Harris's debut novel, How to Sleep at Night received a positive review from Kirkus Reviews. Her novel, How to Sleep at Night, also was selected as The Sunday Times Hottest Read of 2025 and Most Anticipated Book of 2025 by Time (magazine).