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Adriana Trigiani is an American best-selling author of eighteen books, playwright, television writer/producer, film director/screenwriter/producer, and entrepreneur based in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Trigiani has published a novel a year since 2000.


Early life and career

Trigiani graduated from Saint Mary's College in
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
in 1981. Inspired by her
Italian American Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
heritage and Appalachian childhood in
Big Stone Gap, Virginia Big Stone Gap is a town in Wise County, Virginia, United States. The town was economically centered around the coal industry for much of its early development. The population was 5,254 at the 2020 census. History The community was formerly kn ...
, Trigiani arrived in New York in 1985. Trigiani made her off-Broadway debut in New York City as a playwright in 1985 at the
Manhattan Theater Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 19 ...
with ''Secrets of the Lava Lamp,'' directed by Stuart Ross. From 1988 to 1998, she created scripts for television sitcoms, including ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...
'' (1984) and its spin-off ''
A Different World ''A Different World'' is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of '' The Cosby Show''. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable ( Lisa Bonet) an ...
'' (1987). She was the writer and executive producer of ''City Kids'' for ABC/
Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...
Productions, she was an executive producer and writer of ''Growing Up Funny,'' a television special for Lifetime which garnered an Emmy nomination for Lily Tomlin. Trigiani has written eighteen best-sellers in fiction and non-fiction, wrote and directed the award-winning documentary ''Queens of the Big Time'' (1996 Audience Award Hamptons International Film Festival and 1997 Palm Springs International Film Festival). She wrote and directed the major motion picture ''Big Stone Gap'', based on her debut novel and shot entirely on location in her hometown. In 2018 she directed ''Then Came You'' in Scotland, starring Craig Ferguson and Kathie Lee Gifford (screenwriter). She adapted her novel ''Very Valentine'' for Lifetime Television, it premiered in June 2019 starring Kelen Coleman and Jacqueline Bisset. Trigiani co-founded with Nancy Bolmeier-Fisher ''The Origin Project,'' an in-school writing program in Appalachia that serves over 1700 students in her home state Virginia. The program has received many awards, including citations from the Virginia Council for the Humanities (2018), Helen M. Lewis Community Service Award (2015), and the William P. Kanto Memorial Award at The University of Virginia at Wise (2017).


As novelist and filmmaker

Trigiani authored the best-selling ''Big Stone Gap'' series, including ''Big Stone Gap'' (2000), ''Big Cherry Holler'' (2001), ''Milk Glass Moon'' (2002), and ''Home to Big Stone Gap'' (2006), set in her
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
hometown; and the bestselling ''Valentine trilogy,'' the tale of a woman working to save her family's shoe company in
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...
. Trigiani also wrote the ''Viola'' books, about a clever teenage filmmaker from
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, for young adults. Trigiani's acclaimed stand-alone novels include ''Lucia, Lucia'' (2003), ''The Queen of the Big Time'' (2004), and ''Rococo'' (2005). Trigiani's book ''The Shoemaker's Wife'' is the fictional account of the lives of her own grandparents after emigrating to America from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
in the early 20th century. Regularly on ''
The New York Times Bestseller List ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
'', critics have noted Trigiani's ability to "create distinctive voices for each of her characters." Millions of copies of Trigiani's books are in print in the United States and published in 36 countries around the world. Overlapping themes include self-perception, social identity, the universal immigrant story, personal loss, working class life, and contemporary social and environmental issues. Since 2012, ''Adriana Trigiani Tours,'' and ''AT Escapes,'' have offered travel tours to
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and
Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...
inspired by the novels of Adriana Trigiani. During the 1990s, Trigiani wrote and directed an award-winning documentary ''Queen of The Big Time'' (1996), the story of her father's hometown of Roseto,
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 ...
, shown in film festivals in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
, co-produced ''Green Chimneys,'' and later contributed to
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
documentary ''The
Italian Americans Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
.'' In 2014, Trigiani directed the major motion picture ''
Big Stone Gap (film) ''Big Stone Gap'' is a 2014 American drama romantic comedy film written and directed by Adriana Trigiani and produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios, a subsidiary of Media Society. Based on Trigiani's 2000 best-selling novel of ...
,'' a
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
film adaptation of her namesake bestselling novel, produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios, a subsidiary of Media Society. ''
Big Stone Gap (film) ''Big Stone Gap'' is a 2014 American drama romantic comedy film written and directed by Adriana Trigiani and produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios, a subsidiary of Media Society. Based on Trigiani's 2000 best-selling novel of ...
'' is a story of family secrets and self-discovery in an Appalachian coal-mining town of the late 1970s. The award-winning ensemble cast includes
Ashley Judd Ashley Tyler Ciminella, known professionally as Ashley Judd (born April 19, 1968), is an American actress and activist. She grew up in a family of performing artists, the daughter of country music singer Naomi Judd and the half-sister of country ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ...
,
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress and singer. She starred as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Out ...
,
Jenna Elfman Jenna Elfman (née Butala, born September 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Glob ...
, and
Patrick Wilson Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...
. Released on October 9, 2015 by Picturehouse (company), Trigiani's narrative directorial debut arrived nearly 30 years after the sale of her first screenplay, ''Three to Get Married,'' produced by Kate Benton in 1986. Opening the Virginia Film Festival, ''
Big Stone Gap (film) ''Big Stone Gap'' is a 2014 American drama romantic comedy film written and directed by Adriana Trigiani and produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios, a subsidiary of Media Society. Based on Trigiani's 2000 best-selling novel of ...
'' was ranked among the top 250 grossing women directed films of 2014.


Media appearances

Trigiani and her work have regularly been featured on
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's ''
Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...
.'' She was profiled on ''
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
Sunday Morning,'' appeared on ''The View, Good Day NY'' with Rosanna Scotto and Lori Stokes, and is heard regularly on ''NPR'' around the country. Trigiani has lectured at ''
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
and the
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...
, ''has been a commencement speaker and received honorary degrees from Emory & Henry College (2018), Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana (2002), The ''
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
at Wise (2001), and The
University of New Haven The University of New Haven (UNH) is a private university in West Haven, Connecticut, United States. History The University of New Haven was founded in 1920 as the New Haven YMCA Junior College, a division of Northeastern University, which sha ...
, ''Connecticut (2005, 2016). She is host of the Library of Virginia Literary Awards (11 years),'' ''was host of the Poets and Writers Gala in''
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
(2016), The Audio Publishers Association ''Audies Gala (2014),'' ''and the ''
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...
''Writers for Writers Awards.'' ''She is permanent host of the Erma Bombeck/
Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
Women's Board Annual Authors Luncheon that is committed to the prevention of kidney disease through awareness, education and research.


Novels

* ''Big Stone Gap: a novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2000. * ''Big Cherry Holler: a Big Stone Gap novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2001 * ''Milk Glass Moon : a Big Stone Gap novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2002. * ''Lucia, Lucia: a novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2004. * ''Home to Big Stone Gap; a novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2006. * ''The Queen of the Big Time : a novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2004. * ''Rococo: a novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2005. * ''Very Valentine: a novel.'' New York:
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 ...
, 2009. * ''Viola in Reel Life.'' New York: Harper Teen, 2009. * ''Brava, Valentine: a novel.'' Harper Collins Publishers, 2010 * ''Viola In the Spotlight''. New York: Harper Teen, 2011. * ''The Shoemaker's Wife: a novel.''New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2012. * ''The Supreme Macaroni Company : a novel.'' New York : Harper Collins Publishers, 2013. * ''All The Stars in the Heavens : a novel.'' New York: Harper, Harper Collins Publishers, 2015. * ''Kiss Carlo. ''New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2017 * ''Tony's Wife: a novel. ''New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2018 * ''The House of Love.'' 2021. * ''The Good Left Undone.'' Dutton, 2022.


Memoirs

* ''Cooking With My Sisters : One Hundred Years of Family Recipes from Bari to Big Stone Gap.'' New York: Random House, 2004. * ''Don't Sing At The Table : Life Lessons From My Grandmothers'' New York : Harper, 2010.


Professional recognition

* 1996: ''Audience Award,'' ''Queens of the Big Time.''
Hamptons International Film Festival The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is an international film festival founded in 1992, by Joyce Robinson. The festival has since taken place every year in East Hampton, New York. It is usually an annual five-day event in mid-October ...
&
Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 19 ...
. * 2003: ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
Bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
s,'' ''Lucia, Lucia: a novel.'' * 2004: ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
Bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
s,'' ''The Queen of the Big Time: a novel.'' * 2004: ''Best Read in
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
'' &''Publishers Weekly Best Sellers,'' ''Lucia, Lucia: a novel.'' * 2005: ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
Fiction Award, finalist'' & ''New York Times Bestsellers,'' ''Rococo: a novel.'' * 2006: ''Library of Virginia Annual Literary Awards,'' ''Big Stone Gap: a novel.'' * 2006: ''
People's Choice Award The People's Choice Awards is an American awards show, recognizing people in entertainment, voted online by the Fan (person), fans and Public, general public. The show has been held annually since 1975, with the winners originally determined us ...
Finalist, Big Stone Gap.'' * 2007: ''Library of Virginia Annual Literary Awards,'' ''Home to Big Stone Gap.'' * 2008:
Shepherd University Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In the fall of 2023, the university enrolled 3,274 ...
Foundation, The
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
Humanities Council, and The West Virginia Center for the Book, ''Appalachian Heritage Writer's Award.'' * 2009: ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
Bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
s,'' ''Very Valentine: a novel'' * 2010: ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
Bestseller A bestseller is a book or other media noted for its top selling status, with bestseller lists published by newspapers, magazines, and book store chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and specialties (novel, nonfiction book, cookb ...
s,'' ''Brava Valentine: a novel.'' * 2010:
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...
''Reading List selection,'' ''Very valentine.'' * 2012: ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
Best Seller'' & ''New York Times Bestsellers: '' ''The Shoemaker's Wife: a novel'' * 2013: ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
Best Seller,'' ''The Supreme Macaroni Company: a novel.'' * 2013: ''The National Organization of Italian American Women,'' Connecticut Region, honoree Adriana Trigiani * 2015: '' Best Ensemble Cast, '' ''Big Stone Gap, the movie.'' Bentonville Film Festival Award. * 2015: ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States. Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...
,'' ''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
,'' and ''
Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...
Best Sellers,'' ''All The Stars In the Heaven.'' * 2015:
Seattle International Film Festival The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) is a film festival held annually in Seattle, Washington, United States, since 1976. It usually takes place in late May and/or early June. It is one of the largest festivals in the world, and feature ...
''Women In Cinema'' series,
Big Stone Gap (film) ''Big Stone Gap'' is a 2014 American drama romantic comedy film written and directed by Adriana Trigiani and produced by Donna Gigliotti for Altar Identity Studios, a subsidiary of Media Society. Based on Trigiani's 2000 best-selling novel of ...
.


References


External links


Official website
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trigiani, Adriana 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American writers of Italian descent American women television producers American television writers American women film directors American women novelists American women screenwriters Appalachian writers Film directors from Virginia Living people People from Big Stone Gap, Virginia Saint Mary's College (Indiana) alumni American women television writers Novelists from Virginia Screenwriters from Virginia 21st-century American screenwriters Television producers from Virginia 1969 births