New York Times Best-selling Author & Award-winning Playwright, Television Writer, and Documentary Filmmaker
Adriana Trigiani is the powerhouse New York Times best-selling author who is beloved by millions of readers around the world for her hilarious and heartwarming novels. Perhaps one popular book critic said it best: “Trigiani defies categorization. She is more than a one-hit wonder, more than a Southern writer, more than a woman’s novelist. She is an amazing young talent.” She is also an award-winning playwright, television writer, and documentary filmmaker. A sought-after speaker, Trigiani is as dazzling a talent on the stage, as she is on the page. She regularly packs sold-out auditoriums at libraries, literary festivals, and women’s groups across the country and has the performance gift of stand-up comedienne.
The author of the instant New York Times best-selling Valentine series, The Supreme Macaroni Company, Very Valentine, Brava, Valentine, Ciao, Valentine, the best-selling Big Stone Gap series, and the New York Times best-selling novels Lucia, Lucia, The Queen of the Big Time, and Rococo, she has been translated and sold in over 35 countries around the world. Don’t Sing at the Table: Life Lessons from My Grandmothers, a treasure trove of insight and guidance from her two grandmothers, features time-tested common sense advice on the most important aspects of a woman’s life, from childhood to old age. She also writes the Viola young adult series, Viola in Reel Life and Viola in the Spotlight. The New York Times bestseller, The Shoemaker’s Wife is a breathtaking multi-generational love story that spans two continents, two World Wars, and two oceans, replete with all the drama, sumptuous detail and heart-stopping romance that have made her “One of the reigning queens of women’s fiction” (USA Today). Coming in October 2015 is her biggest and boldest novel yet, All the Stars in the Heavens. It’s a hypnotic tale based on a true story and filled with her signature elements: family ties, artistry, romance, and adventure. Set in the golden age of Hollywood, the novel captures the luster, drama, power, and secrets that could only thrive in the studio system—viewed through the lives of an unforgettable cast of players creating magic on the screen and behind the scenes.
Critics from the Washington Post to the New York Times to People have described Trigiani’s novels as “tiramisu for the soul”, “sophisticated and wise”, and “dazzling.” They agree that “her characters are so lively they bounce off the page”, and that “… her novels are full bodied and elegantly written.” Her novels have been chosen for the USA Today Book Club, the Target Bookmarked series, and she’s now officially a regular with Barnes & Noble Book Clubs, where she has conducted three online book clubs. Trigiani speaks to book clubs from her home three to four nights a week. Her books are phenomenally popular around the world and Lucia, Lucia was selected as the best read of 2004 by England’s Richard and Judy TV show book club.
Trigiani’s work has always been tied to her roots. She was raised in a small coal mining town in southwest Virginia in a big Italian family. She chose her hometown for the setting and title of her debut novel, the critically acclaimed and best-selling Big Stone Gap, followed by the sequels Big Cherry Holler, Milk Glass Moon, and Home to Big Stone Gap. Trigiani teamed up with her family in 2005 to pen Cooking With My Sisters, which was co-authored by her sister Mary, with contributions from their sisters and mom; the cookbook-memoir features recipes and stories dating back a hundred years from both sides of their Italian-American family.
After graduating from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana, Trigiani moved to New York City to become a playwright. She founded the all-female comedy troupe “The Outcasts,” which performed on the cabaret circuit for seven years. She made her off-Broadway debut at the Manhattan Theatre Club and was produced in regional theaters of note around the country.
Among her many television credits, Trigiani was a writer/producer on The Cosby Show, A Different World, and executive producer/head writer for City Kids for Jim Henson Productions. Her Lifetime television special, Growing up Funny, garnered an Emmy nomination for Lily Tomlin. In 1996, she wrote and directed the documentary film Queens of the Big Time. It won the Audience Award at the Hamptons Film Festival and toured the international film festival circuit from Hong Kong to London.
Trigiani is married to Tim Stephenson, the Emmy award-winning lighting designer of the Late Show with David Letterman. They live in Greenwich Village with their daughter, Lucia.
Praise for Adriana Trigiani’s Events
“There isn’t anything quite like one of Adriana’s events. Our Adriana event was an evening full of laughter and fun! She made everyone feel special and her stories really hit home. We laughed and cried as we hung on to every word.”
— Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and the Youngstown Public Library
“Be prepared to be entertained! Adriana will have the entire room laughing and when she leaves everyone feels as if they have a new best friend. She has the ability to make every reader feel cherished and valued.”
— Bristol Public Library, Bristol, VA
“Adriana was inspiring, funny, and honest. It was like visiting with your wonderful sister – laughs, tears, and oh so much wisdom.”
— Jambalaya Writers Conference, Terrebonne Parish Library
Praise for The Shoemaker’s Wife
“I’ve always loved reading Adriana Trigiani, but The Shoemaker’s Wife is something totally new and completely wonderful: a rich, sweeping epic which tells the story of the women and men who built America dream by dream. I don’t know how Adriana goes into her family’s attic and emerges with these amazing stories, I’m just happy she does. If you’re meeting her work for the first time, get ready for a lifelong love affair. The Shoemaker’s Wife is utterly splendid.”
— Kathryn Stockett, #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Help
“The breathtaking… historical novel sparkles in exquisite details and vivid descriptions.”
— Huffington Post
“The novel is a sweeping epic, but at its heart, it’s a love story. It speaks to an era of possibilities.”
— Providence Journal
“This expansive epic, which seems tailor-made for a miniseries, manages to feel both old-fashioned and thoroughly contemporary… [an] irresistible love story.”
— Booklist
“Trigiani’s gift for using vivid details to create a strong sense of place and her warm affection for her characters will make this a satisfying read for her many fans.”
— Library Journal
Praise for Brava, Valentine
“A sweet and sexy love story.”
— Today Show
“Trigiani’s endearing heroine, Valentine, struggles to balance her life as a shoe designer with her love life. A smart chick-lit read.”
— People
“Crowd-pleasing.”
— O, The Oprah Magazine, (Top 10 titles of February, 2010)
“Valentine is one of Adriana Trigiani’s most winsome characters (yes, she even rivals the Big Stone Gap gang). She’s honest, wry and utterly human… Brava, Valentine is laugh-out-loud funny… but it’s also an unexpectedly poignant examination of the power and pull of family, faith, and love. Can’t wait to see what Valentine’s up to next.”
— BookPage
“Trigiani sucks a new reader right in with strong characters and situations that are immediately involving.”
— Connecticut Post
“Fans will find [Brava, Valentine] impossible to close.”
— Richmond Times, Dispatch
“Trigiani spoke to women’s hearts with Big Stone Gap, and her Valentine series continues to do so. Brimming over with life, her latest will be essential reading for fans of humorous, touching family fiction. Trigiani’s readers will be hard-pressed to wait a year for the final installment, Ciao, Valentine.”
— Library Journal
“[A] charming valentine to love, forgiveness, and family.”
— Publishers Weekly
Praise for Very Valentine
“Sex and the City meets Moonstruck … this first in a new trilogy from Trigiani is sly, sensual and dripping in style.”
— People
“Load up on cappuccino and biscotti before getting lost in the super froth of Adriana Trigiani’s romance-soaked novel, Very Valentine.”
— Marie Claire
“Trigiani has certainly not lost her ability to breathe life into everything she writes.”
— Roanoke Times
“Adriana Trigiani listens to her readers, then gives them what they want. That’s why they’ll be ecstatic about her newest novel.”
— Richmond Times, Dispatch
“No one ever reads just one of Trigiani’s wonderfully quirky tales. Once you pick up the first, you are hooked… Trigiani fills her pages with snappy dialogue and luscious descriptions… Reading Very Valentine is like tucking into a plate of homemade manicotti: irresistible and delicious… [Very Valentine] will have readers who love romantic novels… swooning. Trigiani’s closing is satisfying, even as it paves the way for the lovable heroine to reappear in a planned sequel.”
— BookPage
“This genteel and lush tale of soles and souls has loads of charm and will leave readers eager for the sequel.”
— Publishers Weekly
“Nicely written with vivid images of high fashion, New York City, and traditional Italy, Trigiani’s latest is sure to be eagerly anticipated by her many fans and attract some new readers.”
— Library Journal
“…Trigiani offers plenty of reasons to stick around for part two.”
— Kirkus Reviews