Thomas Dyja

Thomas Dyja
Born	Belmont Cragin, Chicago
Occupation	Writer
Education	Columbia University (BA)
Notable awards	Heartland Prize (2013) Casey Award (1997)

Thomas Dyja is an American writer, living in New York City. ^[1] He has written three novels, a biography of civil rights activist Walter Francis White, and historical books on Chicago and New York City. Play For A Kingdom received the Casey Award, ^[2] and The Third Coast won the Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction. ^[3]

Early life and education

Dyja grew up in Belmont Cragin, Chicago and attended Gordon Technical High School. He moved to New York City to attend Columbia University, graduating in 1984. ^{[1] [4]}

Writing

Dyja's novel The Moon In Our Hands is based on the life of Walter Francis White. ^[5] His history of New York City, New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation, covers the terms of five New York City mayors, including Ed Koch (1978–1989), David Dinkins (1990–1993), Rudy Giuliani (1994–2001), Michael Bloomberg (2002–2013), and Bill de Blasio (2014–2021). ^[6]

Publications

Novels by Dyja

• Play For A Kingdom: a Novel. Mariner, 1998. ISBN   978-0156006293. ^[7]
• Meet John Trow. Viking, 2002. ISBN   978-0670030996. ^{[8] [9]}
• The Moon In Our Hands: a Novel. Da Capo, 2005. ISBN   978-0786715053.

Non-fiction books by Dyja

• Walter White: The Dilemma Of Black Identity In America. Ivan R. Dee, 2008. ISBN   978-1566637664. ^[10]
• The Third Coast: When Chicago Built The American Dream . Penguin, 2013. ISBN   978-1594204326. ^{[11] [12] [13]}
• New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation. Simon & Schuster, 2021. ISBN   978-1982149789. ^{[14] [15]}

Books with contributions by Dyja

• Only Connect: the Way to Save Our Schools. by Rudy Crew. Sarah Crichton, 2007. ISBN   978-0374294014.
• Up Is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, 2018. ISBN   978-1732568402.

Books edited by Dyja

• Heart: Stories of Learning to Love Again. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. ISBN   978-1569246429.
• Life-Changing Stories of Coming of Age. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. ISBN   978-1569245767.
• Awake: Stories of Life-Changing Epiphanies. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. ISBN   978-1569245835.
• Life-Changing Stories of Forgiving and Being Forgiven. Illumina. Marlowe, 2001. ISBN   978-1569245750.

Booked edited with others

• The Hard Way: Writing by the Rebels Who Changed Sports. Da Capo, 1999. ISBN   978-1560252306. With a foreword by Jim Bouton.

Awards

• 1997: Casey Award for Play For A Kingdom ^[2]
• 2013: Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize for Nonfiction for The Third Coast ^[16]

References

1. Levitt, Aimee (17 April 2013). "Thomas Dyja talks about The Third Coast and Chicago's glory years". Chicago Reader . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
2. "CASEY Award: Best Baseball Book - Spitball Magazine". www.spitballmag.com. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
3. Taylor, Elizabeth (3 November 2013). "Thomas Dyja's 'The Third Coast' awarded nonfiction Heartland Prize". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
4. "The City That Never Sleeps — or Stays the Same". Columbia College Today. 2021-09-13. Retrieved 2021-09-14.
5. "The Leonard Lopate Show: The Moon in Our Hands". WQXR. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
6. Katz, Brent. "How Does New York City Keep Reinventing Itself? (Bonus)". Freakonomics Radio . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
7. "Play for a Kingdom, by Thomas Dyja (Warner Books, £6.99 in UK)". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
8. Mazmanian, Adam (14 July 2002). "BOOKS IN BRIEF: FICTION". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
9. "Hot or What: Thomas Dyja". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
10. "'Walter White: The Dilemma of Black Identity in America'". Wall Street Journal. 18 October 2008. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
11. Schneiderman, Davis (1 April 2014). "Won't You Please Come to Chicago?: A Conversation With Thomas Dyja on The Third Coast". HuffPost. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
12. Turow, Scott (16 May 2013). "A Time When Things Started in Chicago". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
13. Savage, Bill (21 April 2013). "Review: 'The Third Coast' by Thomas Dyja". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-03-23.
14. Baker, Kevin (16 March 2021). "How New York City Pulled Itself Out of the Lower Depths". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
15. "Four Decades of Downs and Ups in New York City". The New York Times. 19 March 2021. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
16. "Edward Albee wins Tribune's top award for writing". Los Angeles Times. 10 July 2013. Retrieved 2021-03-23.

External links

• Official website