The Philolexian Society of Columbia University

Garth Stein

Columbia College, Class of 1987

Author of The Art of Racing in the Rain: six million copies, thirty-eight languages.

From Notable Alumni · Foundation editorial

Author of The Art of Racing in the Rain: six million copies, thirty-eight languages. Stein was at Columbia in the years immediately following the 1985 refounding, taking his B.A. from Columbia College in 1987 and an M.F.A. in film from the School of the Arts in 1990. He sat early enough in the Society's modern era to be, by definition, formative: one of the Philos whose presence proved the refounding had taken. He co-produced The Lunch Date, which won the Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short. The Art of Racing in the Rain (Harper, 2008) is told from the perspective of a dog with strong views on Formula One. It became a No. 1 BookSense pick, sold more than six million copies in thirty-eight languages, and was adapted as a film in 2019. Stein lives in Seattle. For all the stories he has told, at Philolexian gatherings the students only want to hear about the body found in a rolled-up carpet in Carmen Hall.

Vital

Full name: Garth Stein

Columbia & the Society

Columbia: Class of 1987 (Columbia College)
Society role: Former editor of the Philolexian Society's literary magazine, Surgam.

Works (29)

1990 The Lunch Date · Co-producer
1992 When Your Head's Not a Head, Its a Nut · PsycEXTRA Dataset
1998 Raven Stole the Moon · Novel
1998 Seelendiebe · Munich: Goldmann Verlag 1998
1999 Corvo Rubo La Luna · Italian edition of "Raven Stole the Moon" (Milan: Marco Tropea, 1999
2004 How Evan Broke His Head and Other Secrets · Novel
2005 Brother Jones · Premiered Theater of Angels, Los Angeles
2008 The Art of Racing in the Rain · Novel
2011 Racing in the Rain: My Life as a Dog · HarperCollins
2014 A Sudden Light · Novel
2015 Enzo and the Christmas Tree Hunt! · HarperCollins
2016 Enzo's Very Scary Halloween · HarperCollins
2017 Enzo and the Fourth of July Races · HarperCollins
2019 Enzo Races in the Rain! · HarperCollins
1987 A Sudden Light[SUDDEN LIGHT][Hardcover]
1987 Cloven, Book Three
1987 El arte de conducir bajo la lluvia
1987 El Arte De Conducir Bajo La Lluvia Novela
1987 Enzo. Die Kunst, ein Mensch zu sein
1987 Gonki na mokrom asfalʹte
1987 Im Licht des Augenblicks
1987 L'art de courir sous la pluie
1987 Miasto w ogniu
1987 Racing in the Rain
1987 The Cloven
1987 Uma Luz Subita (Em Portugues do Brasil)
1987 When I first held you
1987 Wo zai yu zhong deng ni
1987 { [ A SUDDEN LIGHT ] } Stein, Garth ( AUTHOR ) Sep-30-2014 Compact Disc

Primary sources

Columbia College Today & other articles

Columbia College Today — vol. 56 (~2015), 'The Natural and Supernatural Combine In Garth Stein '87's A Sudden Light' by Anne-Ryan Heatwole JRN'09

Stein began his career in documentary filmmaking but has always had a passion for the written word, as evidenced by the success of his previous novel, The Art of Racing in the Rain, which spent more than three years on the New York Times' bestseller list. A former editor of the Philolexian Society's literary magazine, Surgam, Stein earned a degree in English from the College and studied filmmaking at SOA. Stein co-produced the short film The Lunch Date, which won the Short Film Palme D'Or in 1990 at the Cannes Film Festival and the 1991 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.

Former editor of the Philolexian Society's literary magazine Surgam.

Columbia College Today — vol. 56 (~2015), 'The Natural and Supernatural Combine In Garth Stein '87's A Sudden Light' by Anne-Ryan Heatwole JRN'09 →