Book Club

Known for her unique combination of humor and depth, Susan Jane Gilman is the New York Times bestselling author of five books – the nonfiction “Kiss My Tiara,” the memoirs “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress,” and “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” plus the novels “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street” and her latest, “Donna Has Left the Building.”

Gilman has written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast, Salon, The Guardian, Real Simple, and Ms. magazine, among others. She been a commentator for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered," and she has given a TEDx talk on the creative process, “There Is No Lightning Bolt.” Her books have been published in a dozen languages.

She won literary awards for her journalism and short fiction. She was also the recipient of a "Golden Earphones" Award for her Audiobook recording of "The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street."

She once told an interviewer: "I never set out to write books that made people laugh. My main love has always been literary fiction. However, even with my darkest work, people always tell me that parts of it are funny. This used to annoy me because I aspired to be an American Dostoevsky with Breasts.

Although she currently resides primarily in Switzerland, her heart and her feet are never far from her hometown of New York City.