Racine Sun

Chad Harbach was born in 1975 in Racine, Wisconsin. He grew up in the city, where his father worked as an accountant and his mother ran a Montessori school. He attended local schools before leaving for Harvard University. There, he met future writers and editors who would later help him establish his literary career.

Harbach earned an MFA from the University of Virginia and co-founded the literary journal n+1 in 2004. As an editor and writer, he contributed essays on literature, culture, and baseball. His first novel, The Art of Fielding, took nine years to complete. Set at a fictional college on Lake Michigan, it explores baseball, ambition, and relationships. The book was widely praised and became a bestseller.

Harbach has remained active in literary circles, editing collections and publishing essays. Though he moved away, Racine was his first home, and his Wisconsin roots influenced his writing and career.