Richard Elman was the author of twenty-five books, including Fredi&Shirl&The Kids, The 28th Day of Elul, Cocktails at Somoza's, and Tar Beach, and was Visiting Professor of Creative Writing at State University of New York, Stony Brook. Under the pseudonym John Howland Spyker, he was the author of the much praised memoir of life in upstate New York, Little Lives.
