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Gary Goshgarian

Professor Emeritus of English

Gary Goshgarian is a professor of English and teaches courses in Science Fiction, Horror Fiction, Bestsellers, and Fiction Writing. He has taught fiction-writing workshops in the US and Europe. He is also the author of five popular college writing textbooks.

He has written book reviews, travel articles, essays on writing, and general interest pieces for The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, Writer Magazine, Today’s Education,  Sportscape, and Earthwatch Magazine.  His short fiction has appeared in Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories, Thriller 2, edited by Clive Cussler, Thrillers:100 Must  Reads, edited by David Morrell.

A former physicist, he is recipient of the Robert H. Goddard Award from Worcester Polytechnic Institute for Outstanding Professional Achievement.

He is a recipient of Northeastern’s Excellence in Teaching Award.

Under his pen name Gary Braver, he is the bestselling author of nine critically acclaimed mysteries and thrillers, including ELIXIR, GRAY MATTER, and FLASHBACK, the first thriller to have won a Massachusetts Book Award. His books have been translated into sixteen languages. Two have been optioned for movies, including ELIXIR by director Ridley Scott.

His ninth novel, CHOOSE ME, written in collaboration with Tess Gerritsen, is a psychological thriller centered around an illicit and dangerous affair on the campus of fictitious Commonwealth University in Boston. Inspired by the #MeToo Movement and told from alternate points of view, the novel was published in July by Thomas & Mercer as well as in 13 foreign countries and has become an international bestseller.

 

 

View CV
  • Robert H. Goddard Award for Professional Achievement (Worcester Polytechnic Institute), 2014
  • Excellence in Teaching Award
  • Massachusetts Honor Book Award for Fiction (Flashback)

 

 

 

Novels

Published under the pseudonym Gary Braver:

  • Choose Me, co-authored with Tess Gerritsen, Thomas & Mercer (July 2021).
  • Tunnel Vision (Forge Books/ Macmillan, 2011)
  • Skin Deep (Forge, 2008)
  • Flashback (Forge, 2005), winner of the 2006 Massachusetts Honor Book Award
  • Gray Matter (Forge, 2003)
  • Elixir (Forge, 2000)

Published under his own name:

  • The Stone Circle (Penguin, 1997)
  • Rough Beast (Penguin, 1995)
  • Atlantis Fire (Dial Press/Dell, 1980)

Short Stories

  • “Acceptance Speech,” [Gary Braver, pen name], Red Dawn: Best New England Crime Stories, Level Best Books, 2015.
  • “Ghost Writer,” in Thriller 2, ed. Clive Cussler (Mira Books, 2009).

Textbooks

  • Exploring Language, 14th edition (Pearson, 2016)
  • Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader with Kathleen Krueger, 8th edition (Pearson, 2015)
  • The Contemporary Reader, 11th edition (Pearson, 2012)
  • Exploring Language, 13th edition (Longman Publishers, 2011)
  • Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader with Kathleen Krueger, 7th edition (Longman, 2011)
  • Dialogue as Argument: A Concise Guide (Longman, 2011)
  • What Matters in America (Longman, 2011)
  • The Contemporary Reader, 10th edition (Longman, 2010)
  • Readings for Today (Longman, 2008)

Horrorscape

  • An Anthology of Modern Horror Fiction (Kendall-Hunt, 1993)

Essay

  • “Recollections Among the Dead,” Dead in Good Company: A Celebration of Mount Auburn Cemetery, ed. John Harrison & Kim Nagy, Ziggy Owl Press, Boston, 2015.

Working Paper (Novels)

  • Served Cold
  • Primitive
  • Girl in a Tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     

Related Schools & Departments

Courses

Course catalog

  • Fiction Workshop

    ENGL 3378

    Offers an advanced workshop in writing and reading original fiction. Features in-class discussion of student work.

  • The Modern Bestseller

    ENGL 2440

    Explores the relationship between commercially successful fiction and the popular imagination, including thriller, mystery, and literary fiction, by a diverse representation of contemporary writers. We will attend to questions of gender, race, and ethnicity. Guest bestselling author(s) will visit class.

red and orange fall leaves on a tree with a building in the background

Horror Fiction

ENGL 2510

Explores English and American horror fiction. Focuses on short stories, novels, and movies. Examines the evolution of horror fiction and the various themes, techniques, and uses of the macabre.

Gary’s Colleagues

Nicole Aljoe

Professor of English and Africana Studies; Graduate Program Director
Headshot of Francis Blessington

Francis Blessington

Professor of English
Headshot of Erika Boeckeler

Erika Boeckeler

Associate Professor of English
Picture of English Professor Elizabeth Britt

Elizabeth Britt

Professor of English
Headshot of Ryan Cordell

Ryan Cordell

Affiliated Associate Professor of English

Kathleen Coyne Kelly

Professor of English

Theo Davis

Chair and Professor of English
Headshot of Elizabeth Maddock Dillon

Elizabeth Maddock Dillon

Distinguished Professor of English
Headshot of Julia Flanders

Julia Flanders

Professor of the Practice in English; Director, Digital Scholarship Group

Chris Gallagher

Professor of English

Laura Green

Senior Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education; Professor of English and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Headshot of Carla Kaplan

Carla Kaplan

Davis Distinguished Professor of American Literature; Professor of Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Lori Lefkovitz

Ruderman Professor of Jewish Studies; Director of Jewish Studies Program; Professor of English
Headshot of Neal Lerner

Neal Lerner

Professor of English
Headshot of Marina Leslie

Marina Leslie

Associate Professor Emeritus of English