Bestsellers and Pulitzer prize winners, these are 10 of the most famous authors from RI
When it comes to Rhode Island authors, there’s one man who often soaks up all the attention: H.P. Lovecraft.
Born in Providence, Lovecraft embraced the weird like no one else, with a whole genre of fiction named for his creations, Lovecraftian Horror, also called "cosmic horror” or "eldritch horror.”
While Lovecraft died in 1937 (and is buried in Swan Point Cemetery), Lovecraftian horror is still going strong, particularly with movies and television shows.
But he’s hardly the only bestselling author from Rhode Island. Here's a look at some other authors with Ocean State ties.
Ann Hood
The author of over a dozen books, Ann Hood was born in West Warwick. Her first book “Somewhere off the Coast of Maine,” published in 1987, was called brilliant by The New York Times. She’s written more fiction books such as "The Knitting Circle," “The Obituary Writer” and “An Italian Wife,” but her most beloved books are her memoirs, such as “Kitchen Yarns: Notes on Life, Love, and Food,” and “Comfort: A Journey Through Grief.” Rhode Island is a fixture in her memoirs.
David Macaulay
An author and illustrator, David Macaulay has long been driven by curiosity, using his talent for drawing and understanding of how mechanical things work to explain it to the rest of us. The Cumberland High School and Rhode Island School of Design graduate’s work includes "Cathedral,” "City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction,” and, most famously, "The Way Things Work.”
Cormac McCarthy
While he spent most of his childhood in Tennessee, Cormac McCarthy was born in Providence, one of six children in an Irish Catholic family, but the McCarthys moved out of the state when he was 4 years old. His works include "All the Pretty Horses," “Blood Meridian,” “No Country for Old Men” and “The Road,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Edwin Greene O'Connor
Born in Providence, Edwin Greene O’Connor won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 1962 for his novel “The Edge of Sadness.” While the New England city his book is set in isn’t named, it’s believed to be based on Providence.
Avi
Edward Irving Wortis, better known as Avi, wasn’t born in Rhode Island and has since moved away, but he did live here for two decades. He’s written 80 books for children and young adults, winning the Newbery Medal for his book “Crispin: The Cross of Lead” and Newbury Honors for his books “The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle” (which has a Rhode Island connection) and “Nothing But the Truth.” When he lived in Providence, his 1835 house inspired his book “Something Upstairs.”
David Kessler
Even if you don’t immediately recognize the name David Kessler, you're probably familiar with his work. A grief expert, Kessler, who was born in Rhode Island, worked with psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross on the five stages of grief and co-authored two books with her. He’s also written several of his own books, including his most recent, the bestselling “Finding Meaning: The Sixth Stage of Grief.”
Natalie Babbitt
The author of the 1975 classic “Tuck Everlasting,” Natalie Babbitt lived on Benefit Street in Providence for many years. In addition to “Tuck Everlasting,” which won her a Newbery Honor and the first E.B. White Award and was turned into two movies and a Broadway musical, she wrote 20 books.
Forrest Gander
In 2019, Forrest Gander won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry for “Be With.” While he no longer lives in Rhode Island, he’s the Adele Kellenberg Seaver '49 Professor Emeritus of Creative Writing at Brown University and his bio says he spent “significant” time in Providence.
Rebecca Donovan
Writing in the "new adult" category (geared to readers transitioning from late adolescence to early adulthood), Rebecca Donovan is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, whose “Breathing” trilogy has sold more than 1 million copies. She’s from Bristol.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Famous authors from Rhode Island: 10 of the most well-known RI writers
