Richard Russo

Photo Credit: Judy Axenson

Novelist Richard Russo is renowned for his depiction of blue collar life in abandoned mill towns in upstate New York and northern New England, believed to be modeled after the city he grew up in, Gloversville, New York. He is regarded by many leading critics as the most important writer about "Main St., USA" since Sherwood Anderson and Sinclair Lewis.

His recent best-selling novel, Empire Falls (2001, Knopf) won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize. The novel is set in a former logging and textile town in Maine, and follows the misadventures of Miles Roby, manager of a greasy spoon called the Empire Grill. Empire Falls provides a panoramic view of small town life; its faded upper class, unemployed millworkers, angry youth, petty crooks, mediocre public officials, and numberless eccentrics--all of them left behind by the new economy.

The Whore's Child, Russo's first collection of short stories was published in July 2002.

"a wonderful distillation of Russo's gifts for crystal-clear narration, subtle character portrayal, and impressible humor," - Kirkus on The Whore's Child

Russo's earlier novels include Mohawk (1986), The Risk Pool (1988)--both set in fictional Mohawk, NY, a town plagued by unemployment and polluted water--and Straight Man (1997), a story of academic politics set in a rural Pennsylvania college town. Russo also co-wrote the screenplay of another Paul Newman film, Twilight (1988), co-starring Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman, and Reese Witherspoon. His teleplay Flamingo Rising (2000), was produced by the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Russo is best known for his novel, Nobody's Fool (1993), which provides the basis for a major 1994 motion picture starring Paul Newman, Melanie Griffith, Jessica Tandy and Bruce Willis. The film received Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Screenplay. The novel is set in the fictional upstate New York town of North Bath, a former mineral spa whose springs dried up abruptly. North Bath is the sickly sister city of Schuyler Springs, a prosperous resort. Capital Region residents recognize North Bath as Ballston Spa, and Schuyler Springs as Saratoga. The novel features Russo's trademark cast of likable layabouts, cranks and misfits.

Russo lives in Maine with his wife and their two daughters. A former Professor of English and American Literature at Main's Colby College, Russo retired at the age of 47 to pursue writing full time.

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