Doctor of Letters
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June 11, 2022
New York Times bestselling author Gary Shteyngart is known for his blistering humor, satirical takedowns of contemporary society, and compassionate examination of modern love and loss.
Russian-born Shteyngart is an associate professor of writing at Columbia University School of the Arts and the author of the critically acclaimed novels The Russian Debutante’s Handbook (winner of the Stephen Crane Award for First Fiction and the National Jewish Book Award for Fiction), Absurdistan and Super Sad True Love Story (winner of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize). His latest novel, Our Country Friends (2021), follows a group of eight friends isolating together during the COVID pandemic. Hailed in The New York Times as “a perfect novel for these times and all times,” Our Country Friends appeared on numerous best-of-the-year lists. Shteyngart’s widely acclaimed memoir Little Failure (a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist) wittily and poignantly shares his American immigrant experience.
Shteyngart was named a Granta Best Young American Novelist and a New Yorker “Best Writer Under 40.” His books have been translated into 26 languages, and his essays and short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Travel + Leisure, Esquire, GQ, The New York Times Magazine and many other publications.
Shteyngart earned a B.A. in politics at Oberlin College and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Hunter College.