United States

Alexander Maksik

Alexander Maksik is the author of You Deserve Nothing, a New York Times and IndieBound bestseller; A Marker to Measure Drift, which was a New York Times Notable Book, as well as a finalist for the William Saroyan Prize and Le Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger, and the basis of the 2023 motion picture Drift; Shelter in Place, named one of the best books of the year by the Guardian and the San Francisco Chronicle; and The Long Corner, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and named one of the best books of the year by The Australian. Maksik is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Pushcart Prize, and The Sewanee Review’s Andrew Lytle Prize. His books have been translated into a dozen languages.

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Latest reviews

“Eerie and moving...compelling...It is finally an argument for the necessity of irony, risk and integrity in the production of art as in life.”

— The New York Times Book Review, May 17 2022

My little English major heart fluttered all the way through this one...Perfect for a deep-thinking book club, I guarantee you won’t be able to keep your thoughts to yourself.”

— Little Village Magazine, May 16 2022

“While it’s immediately clear that there’s something less-than-wholesome going on at The Coded Garden, Maksik keeps readers guessing exactly what that is...This ambiguity makes the narrative particularly compelling; it’s a hard book to put down.”

— Jewish Book Council, May 16 2022

“A triumph of sophisticated art.”

— Forward, Mar 7 2022

“A scathing satire...Readers will revel in the riotous upending of a self-absorbed personality.”

— Publishers Weekly, Feb 18 2022

"a novel of considerable power"

— Times Literary Supplement (UK), Feb 15 2017

"Maksik is skilled at capturing and expressing ambivalent and troubling feelings, especially in the context of a loving relationship between two very different people." Read the full review in Psychology Today.

— Psychology Today, Jan 2 2017

"...a moving, complex novel about mothers and lovers that grapples with mental illness, [and] how culture shapes our responses to violence, family ties, and gender."

— Book Riot, Dec 20 2016

SHELTER IN PLACE was selected as one of the Best Books of 2016 by the San Francisco Chronicle!

— San Francisco Chronicle, Dec 15 2016

Shelter in Place was named on of Entropy Magazine's Best Books of 2016!

— Entropy Magazine, Dec 2 2016

SHELTER IN PLACE was named one of The Guardian's "Best Books of 2016!"

— The Guardian, Nov 27 2016

"Delicately nuanced, this mini saga of an America that lays just behind the headlines is full of emotions, lacerating but true to life in that it is about a recognisable form of everyday life and digs up feelings we all have inevitably had at times."

— Lovereading, Nov 2 2016

"Shelter in Place subverts the Manic Pixie Dream Girl by taking her to her extreme conclusion...This is a book about the women in Joe’s life– mothers and lovers, sisters and strangers– but it manages to be feminist, angry, and deeply moving."

— Book Riot, Oct 31 2016

"Maksik describes the highs and lows of bipolar disorder with heartbreaking beauty and terror."

— Angel City Review, Oct 25 2016

“Shelter in Place is an exceptional look at the vagaries of bi-polar disorder, as well as a powerful consideration of family (both blood and chosen), violence against women (and in response to that violence), and the overwhelming power of love..."

— The Cedar Rapids Gazette, Oct 23 2016

"Brutal in its honest prose and harsh reality, Alexander Maksik’s Shelter in Place sticks to your ribs like steak and mashed potatoes. Mental illness, intertwined with growing up and growing old, proves more haunting than any ghost story."

— Campus Circle, Oct 9 2016

"It's a story that's harrowing and heartfelt all at once...a captivating story that will stick with you well beyond the final pages."

— Booktrib, Sep 13 2016

"Maksik’s voice is distinctive and vivid, giving us a portrait of a life that is honest, visceral, truly extraordinary."

— Departures, Sep 12 2016

"Shelter in Place feels to me like an even more accomplished novel: a book to shake your sense of self, by a writer doing exactly as he pleases."

— Electric Literature, Sep 12 2016

"Shelter in Place is as unquestionably brilliant as it is painful; a rare meditation on mania, depression, and the rage of youth that so often dissipates with the approach of middle age."

— The Huffington Post, Sep 9 2016