Thomas Dyja is an American writer, living in New York City. He has written three novels, a biography of civil rights activist

Walter Francis White Walter Francis White (July 1, 1893 – March 21, 1955) was an American civil rights activist who led the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for a quarter of a century, from 1929 until 1955. He directed ...

, and historical books on

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

and

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 ...

. ''Play For A Kingdom'' received the

Casey Award The Casey Award (stylized as CASEY) is an annual literary award that has been given to the best baseball book of the year since 1983. The award was created by Mike Shannon and W. J. Harrison, editors and co-founders of '' Spitball: The Literary B ...

, and ''The Third Coast'' won the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction.

Early life and education

Dyja grew up in

Belmont Cragin, Chicago Belmont Cragin is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located on the Northwest Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is designated Community Area 19, and is located NW of the Loop. Surrounding community areas include: ...

and attended

Gordon Technical High School DePaul College Prep is a Vincentian Catholic college preparatory high school founded in 2014 in Chicago. The founders were a group of administrators and trustees of DePaul University and other individuals committed to Catholic education. As pa ...

. He moved to New York City to attend

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, graduating in 1984.

Writing

Dyja's novel ''The Moon In Our Hands'' is based on the life of

. His

history of New York City The written history of New York City began with the first European explorer, the Italian Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1528. European settlement began with the Dutch in 1608 and New Amsterdam was founded in 1624. The " Sons of Liberty" campaigned ...

, ''New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation'', covers the terms of five New York City mayors, including

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. Koch was a lifelong Democrat who ...

(1978–1989),

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...

(1990–1993),

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani ( , ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and Disbarment, disbarred lawyer who served as the 107th mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney ...

(1994–2001),

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

(2002–2013), and

Bill de Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

(2014–2021).

Publications

Novels by Dyja

*''Play For A Kingdom: a Novel''. Mariner, 1998. . *''Meet John Trow''. Viking, 2002. . *''The Moon In Our Hands: a Novel''. Da Capo, 2005. .

Non-fiction books by Dyja

*''Walter White: The Dilemma Of Black Identity In America''. Ivan R. Dee, 2008. . *'' The Third Coast: When Chicago Built The American Dream''. Penguin, 2013. . *''New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation''. Simon & Schuster, 2021. .

Books with contributions by Dyja

*''Only Connect: the Way to Save Our Schools''. by

Rudy Crew Rudolph Franklin "Rudy" Crew (born September 10, 1950) is an American educator, academic administrator, and former government employee who currently serves as President of Medgar Evers College. A lifelong educator and public school administrator, ...

. Sarah Crichton, 2007. . *''Up Is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio''.

Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art The Block Museum of Art is a free public art museum located on the campus of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. The Block Museum was established in 1980 when Chicago art collectors Mary (daughter of Albert Lasker) and Leigh B. Block ...

, 2018. .

Books edited by Dyja

*''Heart: Stories of Learning to Love Again''. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. . *''Life-Changing Stories of Coming of Age''. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. . *''Awake: Stories of Life-Changing Epiphanies''. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. . *''Life-Changing Stories of Forgiving and Being Forgiven''. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. .

Booked edited with others

*''The Hard Way: Writing by the Rebels Who Changed Sports''. Da Capo, 1999. . With a foreword by

Jim Bouton James Alan Bouton (; March 8, 1939 – July 10, 2019) was an American professional baseball player. Bouton played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a pitcher for the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, Houston Astros, and Atlanta Braves between 196 ...

Awards

*1997:

for ''Play For A Kingdom'' *2013: Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction for ''The Third Coast''

References

External links

* Writers from Chicago Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Columbia College (New York) alumni Historians from Illinois American biographers American non-fiction writers {{US-novelist-stub