Add Some Violet Pride to Your Book Collection with Reads from NYU Alumni Authors
Calling all bookworms! Get ready to curl up with these year-round reads from award-winning and bestselling NYU alumni writers. Use the quicklist menu or scroll down below to discover new and famous authors of children’s classics, dystopian fantasies, historical nonfiction, and more.
Quicklist: Autobiographies & Memoirs | Business & Economics | Comics | Cooking & Travel | Fiction | Nonfiction | Plays | Young Adult
Please note this is not an exhaustive list and only includes a small number of the many talented NYU alumni who work in the field of writing.
Rita Mae Brown (WSC ’68)
Rubyfruit Jungle (1973)
At the time of publication, Rubyfruit Jungle was hailed as “remarkable” for its explicit portrayal of lesbianism.
Boris Fishman (GSAS ’10)
Savage Feast: Three Generations, Two Continents, and One Dinner Table (A Memoir with Recipes) (2019)
Named one of Booklist's Must Read Nonfiction picks of 2019.
Elizabeth Gilbert (WSC ’91)
Eat, Pray, Love (2006)
Made into a film starring Julia Roberts, Eat Pray Love spent 57 weeks in the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller list.
Bettye Kearse (GSAS ’67)
The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President's Black Family (2020)
Kirkus Reviews calls this autobiography "a Roots for a new generation, rich in storytelling and steeped in history."
Frank McCourt (STEINHARDT ’57)
Angela's Ashes (1996)
Winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography.
Janet Mock (GSAS ’06)
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More (2014)
Winner of the 2015 Stonewall Book Award, this author, actress, director, producer, transgender rights activist, and TV host was named an NYU Alumni Changemaker of the Year in 2019.
Darin B. Strauss (GSAS ’97)
Half a Life (2010)
Winner of the 2011 National Book Critics Circle Award for Memoir, Strauss is also a Clinical Professor of Fiction in NYU's Creative Writing Program.
Robert Greifeld (STERN ’87)
Market Mover: Lessons from a Decade of Change at NASDAQ (2019)
An inside look into one of the world’s biggest stock exchanges from the former CEO and chairman of Nasdaq.
Jonathan Tepperman (LAW ’98)
The Fix: How Nations Survive and Thrive in a World in Decline (2016)
Longlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award in 2016.
Brian K. Vaughan (TSOA ’98)
Saga (2012)
Winner of the 2013 Hugo award for Best Graphic Story, as well as three Eisner Awards for Best Writer, Best Continuing Series, and Best Painter/Multimedia Artist.
Brent D. Glass (GSAS ’71)
50 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S. (2016)
A guide to 50 of the most notable cultural sites in the United State by the Director Emeritus of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.
Sheila G. Lukins (STEINHARDT ’70)
The Silver Palate Cookbook (1982)
Recipient of NYU’s Distinguished Alumni Award (1994–1995).
Warren Adler (ARTS ’47)
The War of the Roses (1981)
This book was made into the dark comedy film, The War of Roses, starring Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas.
Jacob M. Appel (GSAS ’00, CERT CAS)
The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up (2012)
Winner of the 2013 International Rubery Book Award.
Judy Blume (STEINHARDT ’61)
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret (1970)
Recipient of NYU's Distinguished Alumni Award (1995–1996).
Candace Bushnell (GAL ’81)
Sex and the City (2006)
Bushnell’s pop culture classic inspired the wildly successful HBO TV series and film, Sex and the City.
Caleb Carr (WSUC ’77)
The Alienist (1994)
Carr’s period thriller and New York Times Best Seller inspired the TV series, The Alienist, starring Dakota Fanning and Luke Evans.
Nell Freudenberger (GSAS ’00)
Lost and Wanted (2019)
Ranked a New York Times Best Seller and named Best Book of 2019 by Vogue and NPR's Maureen Corrigan.
Joseph Heller (WSC ’48)
Catch-22 (1961)
The term “catch-22” was first coined by Heller in this satirical war novel, which has sold more than 10 million copies to date.
Mitchell S. Jackson (GSAS ’04)
The Residue Years (2013)
Winner of the 2014 Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence.
Maaza Mengiste (GSAS ’07)
Beneath the Lion's Gaze (2010)
Winner of the 2011 NAACP Image Award.
Leonard Michaels (WSC ’53)
The Men's Club (1981)
Nominated for the National Book Award for First Novel, The Men's Club was made into a drama film of the same name in 1986.
Camille Perri (CAS ’01)
When Katie Met Cassidy (2018)
Named one of NPR's Best Books of 2018 and recognized as one of Washington Post's 50 Notable Works of Fiction in 2018.
Herman Raucher (COMMERCE ’49)
Summer of '42 (1971)
Originally based upon the screenplay, Racher’s book inspired the coming-of-age film, Summer of ‘42.
David Boies (LAW ’67)
Redeeming the Dream: The Case for Marriage Equality (2014)
An inside look from the two lawyers who argued the Supreme Court’s landmark rulings on The Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8.
Rebecca Mead (GSAS ’90)
One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding (2007)
A deep dive into the billion-dollar wedding industry.
Davi Napoleon (TSOA ’73)
Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater (1991)
Written in the style of a novel, this work was modeled after Voltaire's Candide.
Howard Zinn, Ph.D. (WSC ’51)
A People's History of the United States (1980)
Named a finalist for the 1981 National Book Award for History.
Tony Kushner (TSOA ’84)
Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1991)
Winner of the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2013 National Medal of Arts Award presented by former U.S. President Barack Obama.
John P. Shanley (STEINHARDT ’77)
Doubt: A Parable (2005)
Winner of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Doug Wright (TSOA ’87)
I Am My Own Wife (2004)
Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Suzanne Collins (TSOA ’89)
The Hunger Games (2008)
Winner of the 2010 Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award and a #1 New York Times Best Seller, this book series was made into one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time.
Sara Shepard (CAS ’99)
Pretty Little Liars (2009)
A #1 New York Times Best Seller, this book series inspired the hit TV show Pretty Little Liars.