Richard Russo (born July 15, 1949) is an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, short story writer,

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. In 2002, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel '' Empire Falls''. Several of his works have been adapted into television series and movies. He is known for his realistic depictions of

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

, small-town life in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

, particularly in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and Russo's native

Upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

Early life and education

Russo was born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville. He earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

, a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree, and a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, which he attended from 1967 through 1979. The subject of his doctoral dissertation was the works of the early American writer, historian and editor

Charles Brockden Brown Charles Brockden Brown (January 17, 1771 – February 22, 1810) was an American novelist, historian, and magazine editor, editor of the Early National period. Brown is regarded by some scholars as the most important American novelist before J ...

Career

Russo was teaching in the English department at Southern Illinois University Carbondale when his first novel, '' Mohawk'', was published, in 1986. Much of his work is semi-autobiographical, drawing on his life from his upbringing in upstate New York to his time teaching literature at

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

, where he retired from in 1996 to pursue writing full-time. His 2001 novel '' Empire Falls'' received the 2002

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during ...

. He has written nine other novels, a collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

, and a memoir (''Elsewhere''). His short story "Horseman" was published in ''

The Best American Short Stories 2007 ''The Best American Short Stories 2007'', a volume in ''The Best American Short Stories series'', was edited by Heidi Pitlor and by guest editor Stephen King.Pitor, Heidi and King, Stephen (editors), ''The Best American Short Stories 2007'' Hought ...

'' edited by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

and Heidi Pitlor. Besides his work as a book author, Russo along with director Robert Benton co-wrote the 1998 film ''

Twilight Twilight is daylight illumination produced by diffuse sky radiation when the Sun is below the horizon as sunlight from the upper atmosphere is scattered in a way that illuminates both the Earth's lower atmosphere and also the Earth's surf ...

'', starring Paul Newman. He also wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film '' Ice Harvest'' and for the 2005 Niall Johnson film '' Keeping Mum'', which starred Rowan Atkinson.

Adaptations

Director Robert Benton adapted Russo's 1993 novel ''Nobody's Fool'' as a 1994 film of the same title, starring

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and activist. He was the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Paul Newman, numerous awards ...

, which Benton directed. Russo also wrote the teleplay for the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

adaptation of '' Empire Falls''. Russo's 1997 novel ''

Straight Man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

'' was adapted by

Paul Lieberstein Paul Bevan Lieberstein (born February 22, 1967) is an American actor, screenwriter, television director and television producer. A Primetime Emmy Award winner, he is best known as a writer, executive producer, and supporting cast member on the ...

and Aaron Zelman into a television show entitled '' Lucky Hank'' starring

Bob Odenkirk Robert John Odenkirk (; born October 22, 1962) is an American actor, screenwriter, comedian, and producer. He started his career as a comedian and comedy writer before expanding his career by acting in dramatic works. His List of awards and no ...

for AMC. The series debuted on March 19, 2023 on AMC.

Personal life

Russo and his wife, Barbara, live in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

, and spend winters in Boston.Richard Russo Profile
/ref> They have two daughters, Kate and Emily.

Works

Novels

* '' Mohawk'' (

Vintage Books Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was acquired by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Ho ...

, 1986) * '' The Risk Pool'' (

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

, 1988) * '' Nobody's Fool'' (Random House, 1993) * ''

'' (Random House, 1997) * '' Empire Falls'' ( Alfred A. Knopf, 2001) * '' Bridge of Sighs'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007) * '' That Old Cape Magic'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009) * '' Everybody's Fool'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2016) * '' Chances Are...'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2019) * '' Somebody's Fool'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2023)

Short stories

* '' The Whore's Child and Other Stories'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2002) * ''Interventions'', with illustrator Kate Russo ( Down East Books, 2012) * ''Trajectory: Stories'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2017) * ''Sh*tshow'' (Vintage, 2020)

Non-fiction

* ''Elsewhere: A Memoir'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2012) * ''The Destiny Thief: Essays on Writing, Writers and Life'' (Alfred A. Knopf, 2018) * ''Marriage Story, An American Memoir'' (Scribd, 2021) * ''Life and Art: Essays'' (Knopf, 2025)

Filmography

*'' Monsters'' (1989) (TV) *'' Nobody's Fool'' (1994) – based on his novel *''

'' (with Robert Benton) (1998) *'' The Flamingo Rising'' (2001) (TV) *'' Brush with Fate'' (2003) (TV) *'' Empire Falls'' (2005) (TV) – based on his novel *'' The Ice Harvest'' (with Robert Benton) (2005) *'' Keeping Mum'' (with Niall Johnson) (2005) *'' Lucky Hank'' (2023) (TV) – based on his novel ''Straight Man''

References

External links

Audio recording of Russo reading a chapter of ''That Old Cape Magic''
from the Maine Humanities Council and the Portland Public Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russo, Richard 1949 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American male screenwriters Colby College faculty People from Johnstown, New York People from Camden, Maine Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners Southern Illinois University faculty University of Arizona alumni Novelists from Maine American male short story writers People from Gloversville, New York 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Novelists from Illinois Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from Arizona Screenwriters from Maine