Brawler

Brought to you by Penguin.

One of our best writers, Lauren Groff returns with a fierce new story collection, her first since the award-winning and bestselling Florida.

Ranging from the 1950s to the present day and moving across age, class, and region - from New England to Florida to California - these nine stories reflect and expand upon a single shared theme: the ceaseless battle between the dark and light in all of us.

Among those caught in this match are a young woman suddenly responsible for her disabled sibling; a hot-tempered high school swimmer in need of an adult; a mother blinded by the loss of her family; and a banking scion endowed with a different kind of inheritance. Motivated by love, impeded by human fallibility, they try to do the right thing for as long as they can.

Precise, surprising and provocative, anchored by profound insight into human nature, Brawler reveals the repeated fracture points between love and fear, compassion and violence, reason and instinct, altruism and survival. It is a timeless, stunning achievement from one of the very best short story writers working today.

Praise for Lauren Groff
"Her writing has a timeless quality" The Times on The Vaster Wilds
"Groff's writing is muscular and precise, her themes wildly resonant" Sunday Times on Matrix
"An audacious piece of storytelling, full of passion, wisdom and magic" Sarah Waters on Matrix
"It's as brightly lit as an illuminated manuscript" Naomi Alderman on Matrix
"One of its stories is a bracing read; together they form a masterpiece" Stylist on Florida
"She's a writer whose turn of phrase can stop you in your tracks" Financial Times on Florida
"Easily the year's best story collection" Vogue on Florida

© Lauren Groff 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026