Kashana Cauley

State: California

Kashana Cauley (born in Madison, Wisconsin, 1980s) is a celebrated comedy writer, essayist, and author praised for blending humor, social critique, and sharp storytelling. After practicing antitrust law in Midtown Manhattan, she broke into comedy writing—contributing to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, HBO’s Pod Save America, and Fox’s The Great North. As a journalist, her essays have appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, The New Yorker, Pitchfork, and Rolling Stone. In 2023, she published her debut novel, The Survivalists, a darkly comic exploration of doomsday prep culture and socioeconomic anxiety, earning critical acclaim and honors including a Center for Fiction First Novel longlist and “Best Book of 2023” mentions from Vogue, Today, and the BBC. Her eagerly awaited sophomore work, The Payback (July 2025), is a razor-sharp heist novel targeting student loan debt. Based in Los Angeles, Cauley’s distinctive voice continues to spotlight systemic inequities through hilarious, pointed narratives that resonate deeply with Millennial and Gen-Z audiences.

Genres: Contemporary, Humor, Nonfiction, Thriller

Audiences: Adult