Sam Sussman

Sam Sussman
at the 2026 Gaithersburg Book Festival
Born1991 (age 34–35)
EducationSwarthmore College (B.A.) University of Oxford (M.Phil)
OccupationWriter
Notable workBoy From the North Country (2025)
Websitewww.samevansussman.org

Sam Sussman is an American writer. He is best known for his debut novel, Boy From the North Country, which was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Awards in Fiction and Debut Fiction. as well as the best debut novel of Fall 2025 by Oprah Daily.

Early life and education

Sussman was born in 1991,[citation needed] and grew up in Goshen, New York.Sussman has said that literature was "a love language between my mother and me."

Sussman studied one year at SUNY Binghamton and one year at Christ Church, Oxford, before transferring to Swarthmore College, from which he earned a Bachelor of Arts. He later attended Oxford University, from which he earned a Master of Philosophy in international studies. While at Oxford, Sussman was an active member of the Oxford Union.

Career

Sussman has taught writing and literature seminars in England, India, Peru, and Chile. While living in England, Sussman won the BAFTA New Writing Award for original screenplay. He is a member of PEN America and has participated in the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature three times.

Boy from the North Country (2025)

Boy From the North Country is an autofictional novel based on Sussman's Harper's Magazine memoir essay, "The Silent Type: On (Possibly) Being Bob Dylan's Son."[original research] The novel was published September 16, 2025, by Penguin Press. The novel was well received by critics, including starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly.

Human rights activism

Sussman co-founded Extend, an NGO that brings Americans to Israel-Palestine to meet human rights activists working toward a democratic future.

Personal life

Sussman has lived in Berlin and Jerusalem. As of 2025, he lived in both his childhood home in Goshen, New York and an apartment in Manhattan, where his mother first lived in the early 1970s and much of Boy from the North Country takes place.[failed verification] Dylan wrote parts of Blood on the Tracks in the apartment.

References

  1. ↑ "75th National Jewish Book Award Winners | Jewish Book Council". www.jewishbookcouncil.org. February 18, 2026. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  2. ↑ "The Book World Is Buzzing About These Fall Releases—And You'll Want to Read Them All". Oprah Daily. August 22, 2025. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Seidel, Matt (July 18, 2025). "Writers to Watch: Fall 2025". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Sam Sussman | Penguin Random House". PenguinRandomhouse.com. Retrieved July 29, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "2017-2018 Frank 5 Fellow: Wildcard". Aydelotte. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 Segal, David; Weiss, Daniel (September 4, 2025). "A Novelist Asks: Am I Bob Dylan's Son?". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2025.
  7. ↑ OxfordUnion (June 25, 2016). Two-State Solution Debate | Sam Sussman | Opposition. Retrieved August 7, 2025 – via YouTube.
  8. ↑ "Sam Evan Sussman". Sam Evan Sussman. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Sam Sussman". PEN World Voices Festival. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  10. ↑ "The Silent Type, by Sam Sussman". Harper's Magazine. Archived from the original on March 25, 2025. Retrieved July 28, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Boy from the North Country". Kirkus Reviews. May 30, 2025. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  12. ↑ Seaman, Donna (August 2025). "Boy from the North Country". Booklist. Retrieved May 9, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Boy from the North Country by Sam Sussman". Publishers Weekly. September 9, 2025. Retrieved May 10, 2026.
  14. ↑ Emont, Jon (August 1, 2014). "The West Bank by Bus". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  15. ↑ Sanders, Benzion (October 28, 2023). "Opinion | I Fought for the I.D.F. in Gaza. It Made Me Fight for Peace. (Published 2023)". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Sam Sussman thinks Bob Dylan might be his dad – and he's written a book about it". The Independent. September 3, 2025. Retrieved September 5, 2025.