The Books of 2023
The latest additions to Bennington’s rich literary history have hit bookstore shelves. Their authors join Bennington notables, including Donna Tartt '86, Kiran Desai '93, Michael Pollan '76, Ann Goldstein '71, Anaïs Duplan '14, Anne Waldman '66, Cynthia Sweeney MFA '13, Jamie Quatro MFA '09, Amy Gerstler '01, Morgan Jerkins MFA '16, and Charles Bock '97.
Together, Bennington alumni and faculty have won twelve Pulitzer Prizes. Three have served as U.S. poets laureate, and four have been honored as MacArthur Geniuses. Countless among them have written New York Times bestsellers and National Book Award winners.
This year, undergraduate and Bennington Writing Seminars alumni and faculty published more than 20 nationally reviewed books. They have been noted by NPR, chosen as books of the year by the New York Times, and honored by the National Book Foundation. Their writing spanned a wide range of genres from nonfiction essays, memoirs, and biographies to novels, poetry, young adult literature, and short stories.
The Words That Remain
This novel by Stênio Gardel, translated by visiting faculty member Bruna Dantas Lobato ’15, was this year's winner of the for Translated Literature.
How to Say Babylon
Safiya Sinclair ’10 wrote this memoir, which has been named an NPR , one of the , and a .
The Weeds
This novel by Bennington Writing Seminars faculty member Katy Simpson Smith was included among the and noted as a “must read” by The Boston Globe.
Bennington Writing Seminars Alumni and Faculty Publications
- , Fiction, by Jasmin Attia MFA ’21
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, Fiction by Ramona Ausubel, BWS faculty
Named a Best Book of the Year by Kirkus Reviews, , and Oprah Daily
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, Poetry, by J. Mae Barizo MFA ’13
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, Short Stories, by Amber Caron MFA ’16
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, Poetry, Michael Dumanis, BWS faculty
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by James Hall MFA ’00
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, Fiction, by Tara Ison MFA ‘99
Named an Editors' Choice by the , received a starred review from Kirkus
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, Young Adult, James Klise MFA ’05
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, Fiction, Moriel Rothman-Zecher MFA ’23
An NPR
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, Short Stories, by Kelly Sather MFA ’15
Winner of the 2023
Undergraduate Alumni and Faculty
- , Memoir, by Lyn Baldwin '88
Winner of the 2023 Banff Mountain Book Competition: Environmental Literature Award
- , Fiction, by Bret Easton Ellis ’86
New York Times Bestseller
- , Nonfiction, by Sherry Kramer, faculty member
- , Fiction, by Jonathan Lethem ’86
A
- , Artist’s Book by Mary Lum, faculty member emerita
- , Fiction, by J. Vanessa Lyon, faculty member
Booklist, starred review
- , Nonfiction, by Amanda Phillips de Lucas ’11
- , Fiction, by Genevieve Plunkett '11
- , Poetry, by Mary Ruefle ’74
Coming in 2024
, Nonfiction, by Brad Jacobs ’77
Are you an alum who has published a book? Please let us know by submitting a short description and links to classnotes@bennington.edu.
For more about Bennington’s Literary programs, visit the following: