Joseph Di Prisco is the acclaimed author of two bestselling memoirs (Subway to California and The Pope of Brooklyn), six novels (Confessions of Brother Eli, Sun City, All for Now, The Alzhammer, Sibella & Sibella, and The Good Family Fitzgerald), and three books of poetry (Wit’sEnd,Poems in Which, and Sightlines from the Cheap Seats). He is also the co-author of two bestselling books on childhood and adolescence (Field Guide to the American Teenager and Right from Wrong). He is Series Editor of Simpsonistas: Tales from New Literary Project, the annual anthology. His book reviews, essays, and poems have appeared in numerous journals and periodicals, and his poetry has been awarded prizes from Poetry Northwest, Bear Star Press, and Bread Loaf. His new book, My Last Resume: New and Collected Poems showcases an exquisite body of poetry spanning more than five decades. Joseph champions writers, artists, educators, and students. He taught for decades, middle school, high school, college, and beyond, and he has served on boards as chair or trustee of not-for-profits dedicated to the arts, theater, children’s mental health, and schools. In 2015 he founded the not-for-profit New Literary Project (New Lit), in partnership with the University of California, Berkeley, English Department. New Lit drives social change and unleashes artistic power across the generations by offering writing workshops free of charge to teenage writers, investing in creative writers who teach high school, and supporting mid-career authors via the annual Joyce Carol Oates Prize, which he directs.
Born in Brooklyn and a longtime Berkeley resident and Cal graduate, he now lives with his wife, photographer Patti James, and their two whippets in Lafayette, California.
