Richard Russo

For the science fiction writer, see Richard Paul Russo. For the American radio disc jockey, see Anything Anything with Rich Russo.

Richard Russo (born July 15, 1949) is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and teacher. In 2002, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for his novel Empire Falls.^[1] Several of his works have been adapted into television series and movies. He is known for his realistic depictions of rural, small-town life in the Northeastern United States, particularly in Maine, Pennsylvania, and Russo's native Upstate New York.

Richard Russo
Russo in 2008
Born	(1949-07-15) July 15, 1949 (age 76) Johnstown, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Novelist screenwriter short-story writer
Education	University of Arizona (BA, MFA, PhD)
Notable works	Empire Falls, Nobody's Fool, Straight Man
Notable awards	2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Spouse	Barbara Russo
Children	2

Early life and education

Russo was born in Johnstown, New York, and raised in nearby Gloversville. He earned a bachelor's degree, a Master of Fine Arts degree, and a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Arizona, which he attended from 1967 through 1979.^[2] The subject of his doctoral dissertation was the works of the early American writer, historian and editor Charles Brockden Brown.^[3]

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, where he retired from in 1996 to pursue writing full-time.^[4]

His 2001 novel Empire Falls received the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. He has written nine other novels, a collection of short stories, and a memoir (Elsewhere). His short story "Horseman" was published in The Best American Short Stories 2007 edited by Stephen King and Heidi Pitlor.

Besides his work as a book author, Russo along with director Robert Benton co-wrote the 1998 film Twilight, 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, which Benton directed. Russo also wrote the teleplay for the HBO adaptation of Empire Falls.

Russo's 1997 novel Straight Man was adapted by Paul Lieberstein and Aaron Zelman into a television show entitled Lucky Hank starring Bob Odenkirk for AMC. The series debuted on March 19, 2023 on AMC.^[5]

Personal life

Russo and his wife, Barbara, live in Portland, Maine,^[6][7] and spend winters in Boston.^[8] They have two daughters, Kate and Emily.

Works

Novels

• Mohawk (Vintage Books, 1986)
• The Risk Pool (Random House, 1988)
• Nobody's Fool (Random House, 1993)
• Straight Man (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
• Twilight (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