Merullo, Roland

Roland Merullo is an awarding-winning author of 24 books including 17 works of fiction: Breakfast with Buddha, a nominee for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, now in its 20th printing; The Talk-Funny Girl, a 2012 ALEX Award Winner and named a “Must Read” by the Massachusetts Library Association and the Massachusetts Center for the Book; Vatican Waltz named one of the Best Books of 2013 by Publishers Weekly; Lunch with Buddha selected as one of the Best Books of 2013 by Kirkus Reviews; American Savior, a 2008 Massachusetts Center for the Book, “Honor Award” winner; Revere Beach Boulevard named one of the “Top 100 Essential Books of New England” by the Boston Globe; A Little Love Story chosen as one of “Ten Wonderful Romance Novels” by Good Housekeeping and Revere Beach Elegy winner of the Massachusetts Book Award for nonfiction.

A former writer in residence at North Shore Community College and Miami Dade Colleges, and professor of Creative Writing at Bennington, Amherst and Lesley Colleges, Merullo has been a guest speaker at many literary events and venues and a faculty member at MFA programs and several writers’ conferences. His essays have appeared in numerous publications including the New York Times, Yankee Magazine, Newsweek, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Boston Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Good Housekeeping, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Merullo’s books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, German, Chinese, Turkish, Bulgarian, Croatian, Slovenian, and Czech.

Merullo’s latest book, Once Night Falls, was selected as a November 2019 pick by Amazon First Reads’ editors who called the novel “Both epic and intimate in its portrayal of World War II Italy.” They continued, “Merullo expertly illuminates the war’s devastation of the country and its culture. …So immediate, it plunges the reader into this harrowing time, making the story—and the chapter of history—feel intensely personal. …The book is unflinching in its portrayal of wartime turmoil. Yet heroism and hopefulness drive these characters. Once Night Falls is a page-turning, propulsive read, and the stakes are always incredibly high. But it is the characters—and the powerful lessons they bestow — that make this is a truly unforgettable story.”