Allegra Goodman (born 5 July 1967) is an American writer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[1]
Allegra Goodman | |
|---|---|
 Goodman at the 2025 Texas Book Festival | |
| Born | 5 July 1967 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | Harvard University (AB) Stanford University (PhD) |
| Period | 1989-current |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Spouse | David Karger |
| Children | 4 |
| Website | |
| allegragoodman | |
Early life and education
editAllegra Goodman was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Hawaii.[2] She was brought up as a Conservative Jew.[3][4] Her mother, Madeleine Goodman, who died in 1996, was a professor of genetics and women's studies, then assistant vice president at the University of Hawaii at Manoa for many years, before moving on to Vanderbilt University in the 1990s.[5][6] Her father, Lenn E. Goodman,[5] is a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt and the author of a dozen books.[4][6]
Goodman wrote and illustrated her first novel at the age of seven.[7]
Goodman graduated from Punahou School in 1985. She then went to Harvard University, where she earned a BA degree. She then went on to do graduate work at Stanford University, where she earned a Ph.D. degree in English literature in 1996.[6]
Writing
editGoodman's younger sister, Paula Fraenkel, is an oncologist. Fraenkel's experience in research labs is one of the inspirations for Goodman's 2006 novel Intuition.[8]
Her short story "La Vita Nuova" was selected for The Best American Short Stories 2011 and was broadcast on Public Radio International's Selected Shorts in February 2012.[9]
Her novel Isola was named one of People's best books of February 2025.[10]
Personal life
editGoodman met her husband, David Karger, at Harvard University. Both were regulars at Harvard Hillel, and prayed in Harvard Hillel Orthodox Minyan.[11] Goodman and Karger live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where Karger is a professor in computer science at MIT.[12] They have four adult children, three boys and a girl.[3] They are traditionally Jewish in their observance.[4]
Awards and honors
edit| Year | Nominated work | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | — | Whiting Award | Fiction | Won | [13] |
| 1998 | Kaaterskill Falls | National Book Award | Fiction | Shortlisted | [14] |
| 2009 | Intuition | Wellcome Book Prize | — | Shortlisted | [15] |
| 2018 | "F.A.Q.s" | Sunday Times Short Story Award | — | Shortlisted | [16] |
Bibliography
editNovels
edit- Kaaterskill Falls (The Dial Press 1998) ISBN 0-385-32389-1
- Paradise Park (The Dial Press 2001) ISBN 0-385-33416-8
- Intuition (The Dial Press 2006) ISBN 0-385-33612-8
- The Other Side of the Island (Razorbill 2008) ISBN 978-1-59514-196-5
- The Cookbook Collector (The Dial Press 2010) ISBN 978-0-385-34085-4
- The Chalk Artist (The Dial Press 2017) ISBN 978-1-400-06987-3
- Sam (The Dial Press 2023) ISBN 978-0-593-59682-1
- Isola (The Dial Press 2025) ISBN 978-0-593-73008-9
- This Is Not About Us (The Dial Press 2026) ISBN 978-0-593-44785-7
Short fiction
edit- Collections
- Total Immersion (Harper & Row 1989) ISBN 0-06-015998-7
- The Family Markowitz (Farrar, Straus and Giroux 1996) ISBN 0-374-15321-3
- Stories[a]
- Goodman, Allegra (March 4, 1991). "Onionskin". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (January 5, 1992). "The Wedding of Henry Markowitz". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (November 8, 1992). "Fantasy Rose". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (August 1, 1993). "Mosquitoes". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (January 9, 1994). "Sarah". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (July 6, 1997). "The Closet". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (June 13, 1999). "The Local Production of Cinderella". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (July 3, 2005). "Long-Distance Client". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (April 26, 2010). "La Vita Nuova". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (June 30, 2014). "Apple Cake". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (September 4, 2017). "F.A.Q.s". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (January 25, 2021). "A Challenge You Have Overcome". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (February 20, 2023). "The Last Grownup". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (September 22, 2024). "Ambrose". The New Yorker.
- Goodman, Allegra (January 4, 2026). "Deal-Breaker". The New Yorker.
———————
- Notes
- ↑ Short stories unless otherwise noted.
References
edit- ↑ "Allegra Goodman". LibraryThing.
- ↑ Fried, Lewis (2007). "Allegra Goodman". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 7 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. p. 756. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
- 1 2 "Acclaimed Novelist and Short-story Writer, Allegra Goodman, Delves into the World of Teachers and Gamers, the Focus of her Latest Book, 'The Chalk Artist'". Friends of the South End Library. Boston. May 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- 1 2 3 Rimer, Sara (June 26, 1997). "A Writer Without Neuroses?". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
- 1 2 "Dean Goodman remembered for leadership, spirit". Vanderbilt Register. October 7–13, 1996. p. 1. Archived from the original on February 26, 2005. Retrieved June 13, 2006.
- 1 2 3 "Allegra Goodman". Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale. 2011.
- ↑ Donnelly, David. "Novel tale of island prodigy". Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
- ↑ Shafner, Rhonda (April 16, 2006). "'Intuition' rings true in world of science". The Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
- ↑ "Broadcast Schedule | Selected Shorts". Symphony Space. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
- ↑ Tagen-Dye, Carly; Schumer, Lizz (March 2, 2025). "PEOPLE's Best Books of February 2025: New Fiction from Linda Holmes, Karen Thompson Walker and More". People.
- ↑ Teisch, Jessica (2010). "Allegra Goodman" (PDF). Bookmarks Magazine.
- ↑ "David R. Karger". MIT CSAIL Directory.
- ↑ "Allegra Goodman". Whiting Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
- ↑ "Kaaterskill Falls". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
- ↑ "2009 Wellcome Book Prize Shortlist". Barnes & Noble.
- ↑ "2018 Shortlist". The Sunday Times Short Story Award. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
External links
edit
- Official website
- Profile at Bookreporter.com
- Profile at the Whiting Foundation
- 2006 interview in The Washington Post
- Allegra Goodman entry on The Literary Encyclopedia