Meghan Elizabeth Daum (born February 13, 1970) is an American author, essayist, podcaster, and journalist.

In 1999, she moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and the experience became the catalyst for her 2003 novel The Quality of Life Report, which follows the life and times of an ambitious young television journalist who trades New York for the fictional town of Prairie City and explores themes of social class in America as well as the contradictions of the "simplicity movement."

She is also the author of two collections of essays, My Misspent Youth and The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion, which was named as a top 10 books of the year by Slate and Entertainment Weekly.

Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Vogue, GQ, Harper's and elsewhere.

Daum is a 2015 Guggenheim Fellow in general nonfiction[3] and the recipient of 2016 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in creative writing.