Susan Jane Gilman is the bestselling American author of five books – the nonfiction “Kiss My Tiara,” “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress,” and “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” plus the novels “The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street” and “Donna Has Left the Building.” “Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress,” her memoir about growing up in New York City, was a New York Times bestseller; “Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven,” her account of a disastrous backpacking trip through China, was an Oprah Book Club recommendation; and her debute novel, “The Ice Cream of Orchard Street,” an epic story of an immigrant’s rise and fall, was a Target Club Pick. “Donna Has Left the Building” has been named a “top summer read of 2019” by multiple magazines. Her books have been published in a dozen languages.

Gilman has also written for the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Beast, Salon, Real Simple, US, and Ms. magazine, among other publications. She has been a commentator for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” She has given a TEDx talk on the creative process called “There Is No Lightning Bolt.”