Amor Towles is an acclaimed American author, well-known for his literary and historical fiction novels. He was born and raised in the Boston area and went on to graduate from Yale College. Towles furthered his education at Stanford University, earning a M.A. in English as a Scowcroft Fellow. Currently, he resides in Manhattan with his wife and two children, where he balances his time between his family, writing, and serving on the boards of the Library of America and the Yale Art Gallery.
Towles made his debut as an author in 2011 with the release of his first book, "Rules of Civility," which quickly became a New York Times bestseller in both hardcover and paperback. The novel, which features 1930s Manhattan style romance, was praised for its entertaining dialogues, sharp observations, and elegant writing style. Its success led to it being optioned by Lionsgate for a feature film, and the French translation received the 2012 Prix Fitzgerald. Towles' writing is characterized by a classic style, and he believes that quality works which fall out of favor with each generation will eventually find a new audience in the following generations.
The novels written by Towles, including "Rules of Civility" and "A Gentleman in Moscow," have been translated into over fifteen languages and have sold more than six million copies worldwide. His second novel, "A Gentleman in Moscow," was also a New York Times bestseller and was ranked as one of the best books of 2016 by several publications. Towles is an avid fan of early 20th century painting, 1950’s jazz, 1970’s cop shows, rock & roll on vinyl, obsolete accessories, manifestoes, breakfast pastries, pasta, liquor, snow-days, Tuscany, Provence, Disneyland, Hollywood, the cast of Casablanca, 007, Captain Kirk, Bob Dylan (early, mid, and late phases), the wee hours, card games, cafés, and the cookies made by both of his grandmothers.