Halle Butler is an American novelist known for her sharp, darkly humorous portrayals of modern work, alienation, and millennial life. She was born in 1985 and grew up in Bloomington, Illinois, later studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned a BFA in 2008.

Before becoming widely recognized as a writer, Butler worked a series of office and service jobs—experiences that heavily influence her fiction. She made her literary debut with Jillian (2015), followed by The New Me (2019), which was widely praised as a defining novel about precarious work and modern dissatisfaction. Her later novel Banal Nightmare (2024) continues her exploration of disillusionment and social anxiety in contemporary life.

Butler’s writing is characterized by biting satire, bleak humor, and deeply introspective characters who struggle with identity, work, and relationships. She has been recognized as one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists and was named a National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” honoree, establishing her as a distinctive voice in contemporary American fiction.