[4][5] In addition to fiction, Koelb has published criticism and reviews on literature and the arts in a wide variety of publications on both sides of the Atlantic, including the New York Times,[6] the New Statesman,[7] The Guardian, Art in America, and the Times Literary Supplement.

[8] His short critical biography of Lawrence Durrell appeared as part of Scribner's Sons British Writers series, edited by Jay Parini.

Born in Washington, D.C., Koelb grew up in Brooklyn until the age of 12, when his family moved to Brussels, Belgium.

He studied painting in Paris, France, and Barcelona, Spain, before earning his Master's in creative writing from the University of East Anglia in the UK.

Traveling with his wife, a public health specialist and midwife, he has lived in a number of other countries, including Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Rwanda, and Madagascar.