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Elizabeth Koch (publisher)

For the American oboist, see Elizabeth Koch.

Elizabeth Robinson Koch
Born1976 (age 47–48)
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Syracuse University (MFA)
Occupation(s)Founder of Black Balloon Publishing and Catapult
SpouseJason Kakoyiannis
Parents
RelativesChase Koch (brother)

Elizabeth Robinson Koch (/koʊk/ KOHK; born 1976) is an American publisher, writer, and entrepreneur. She has published work for One Story, Columbia Journalism Review, the Los Angeles Review of Books, The New York Observer, and other publications.[1]

Biography

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Koch is the daughter of American businessman Charles Koch, the co-owner, CEO, and chairman of Koch Industries, and Liz Koch.[2] She has a brother, Chase Koch.[3] Koch grew up in Wichita, Kansas, and is a graduate of Wichita Collegiate School. She earned a B.A. in English literature from Princeton University and an M.F.A. in fiction from Syracuse University.[2]

Koch is the editor of Opium Magazine.[2] She is the cofounder of the Literary Death Match reading series, Black Balloon Publishing, and the publisher Catapult, founded in September 2015.[4] She is the founder of New Balloon, a media company that co-produced the 2015 film Beasts of No Nation.

Koch has launched two nonprofit organizations: Unlikely Collaborators, focused on self-investigation,[5] and the Tiny Blue Dot consciousness research foundation.[6][7] After a traumatic childhood incident, she later underwent MDMA-assisted therapy and ultimately became a major donor to the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies.[8]

Personal life

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Koch lives in the greater Los Angeles area with her husband. She has stated that she is "apolitical."[7]

References

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  1. ^ "Elizabeth Koch". Los Angeles Review of Books. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Maloney, Jennifer (September 10, 2015). "A Literary Koch Launches New Publishing House". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  3. ^ "Koch, Charles (1935)". New Netherland Project. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  4. ^ Swanson, Clare (February 3, 2015). "Founders of Electric Lit, Black Balloon Launch New Publishing Venture". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  5. ^ Barnes, Brooks, "The Billionaire's Daughter Knows What You Are Thinking", The New York Times, February 24, 2023
  6. ^ "Our Team". Tiny Blue Dot Foundation. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  7. ^ a b Livni, Ephrat (December 14, 2018). "Here's why Elizabeth Koch, the daughter of a GOP megadonor, chose science over politics". Quartz. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  8. ^ Nuwer, Rachel Love (2023). I feel love: MDMA and the quest for connection in a fractured world. New York: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63557-957-4.