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SVA Books to Gift This 2024 Holiday Season

This year’s SVA holiday gift guide for your favorite bookworm is a collection of art and photography books, nonfiction books, a coloring book for Greek mythology lovers, and more!

December 11, 2024
Collage of book covers and the words "Gift Guide Book Edition" Collage of book covers and the words "Gift Guide Book Edition"

Every year, a new spread of books is released by SVA alumni and faculty members. Because the long list of our SVA family’s published works can be quite intimidating, we hand-picked an assortment just for you. Below, you can find a wide variety of releases perfect to gift your loved ones. Tip: make purchases through Bookshop to support small and local bookstores.


Happy holidays from the School of Visual Arts!

Activity/Coloring

An illustration of Athena with three owls in an olive branch frame. The words, "Greek Mythology Coloring Book" are at the bottom. An illustration of Athena with three owls in an olive branch frame. The words, "Greek Mythology Coloring Book" are at the bottom.

The cover of the coloring bookThe Greek Mythology Coloring Book: Epic Scenes from Olympus and Beyond, by alumnus Jen Yoon.

The cover of the coloring book The Greek Mythology Coloring Book: Epic Scenes from Olympus and Beyond, by alumnus Jen Yoon.

Credit: Clarkson Potter
Credit: Clarkson Potter

Activity/Coloring

The Greek Mythology Coloring Book: Epic Scenes from Olympus and Beyond

Jen Yoon (MFA 2024 Illustration as Visual Essay; BFA 2019 Illustration)

Clarkson Potter

Paperback, $18


Created by artist Jen Yoon (BFA 2019 Illustration), this coloring book features 45 intricate illustrations of Greek gods and goddesses, mythical creatures, and a variety of mesmerizing scenes, allowing you to bring your own artistic interpretation to the legends you know and love.

Art/Photography

a black and white image of a tree branch hanging over a lake. a black and white image of a tree branch hanging over a lake.

The cover of the photography book Elegy, by alumnus Dawoud Bey.

The cover of the photography book Elegy, by alumnus Dawoud Bey.

Credit: Aperture and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond
Credit: Aperture and Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond

Elegy

Dawoud Bey (1977 Photography)

Aperture/Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

Hardcover, $65


In this book, Dawoud Bey focuses on the landscape to create a portrait of the early African American presence in the United States. Renowned for his Harlem street scenes and expressive portraits, Dawoud Bey continues his ongoing series on African American history by taking a look at the deep historical memory still embedded in the geography of the United States.


Cone of Shame

Winnie Au and Marie-Yan Morvan (BFA 2009 Graphic Design)

Union Square & Co. 

Hardcover/e-book, $25/$11.99


I’m Not a Painter, I Just Brush a Lot

Kenny Rivero (BFA 2010 Fine Arts) 

Charles Moffett

Hardcover, $75


Lost and Found

Sally J. Han (BFA 2016 Cartooning)

Fortnight Institute

Hardcover, $60

Children’s/Picture/Young Adult

an illustration of a man holding newspapers and two children in the background running. an illustration of a man holding newspapers and two children in the background running.

The cover of the children’s book Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants, illustrated by alumnus Vesper Stamper.

The cover of the children’s book Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants, illustrated by alumnus Vesper Stamper.

Credit: Holiday House
Credit: Holiday House

Amazing Abe: How Abraham Cahan’s Newspaper Gave a Voice to Jewish Immigrants

Norman H. Finkelstein; illustrated by Vesper Stamper (MFA 2016 Illustration as Visual Essay)

Holiday House

Hardcover/e-book, $18.99/$11.99


Two-time National Jewish Book Award winner Norman H. Finkelstein and Sydney Taylor Award winner Vesper Stamper (MFA 2016 Illustration as Visual Essay) have teamed up to tell the story of Abraham Cahan, the founder and longtime editor of the Yiddish language newspaper the Forverts (the Forward), which was once one of the largest newspapers in the United States.


Christmas at Hogwarts

J.K. Rowling; illustrated by Ziyi Gao (BFA 2021 Illustration)

Bloomsbury Children’s Books

Hardcover, £15.29


Just Like Millie

Lauren Castillo (MFA 2005 Illustration as Visual Essay)

Candlewick

Hardcover, $17.99


Wagnificent: The Adventures of Thunder and Sage

Bethanie (Deeney) Murguia (MFA 1998 Illustration as Visual Essay)

Roaring Book Press

Hardcover/paperback/e-book, $21.99/$13.99/$9.99

Comics/Graphic Memoir

An illustration of a girl with her head down, looking at the viewer. The title "Silence, Full Stop." and the words, "A memoir by Karina Shor" are typed in a stylized font. An illustration of a girl with her head down, looking at the viewer. The title "Silence, Full Stop." and the words, "A memoir by Karina Shor" are typed in a stylized font.

The cover of the graphic memoir Silence, Full Stop., by alumnus Alina Gorban, a.k.a. Karina Shor (MFA 2015 Illustration as Visual Essay).

The cover of the graphic memoir Silence, Full Stop., by alumnus Alina Gorban, a.k.a. Karina Shor (MFA 2015 Illustration as Visual Essay).

Credit: Street Noise Books
Credit: Street Noise Books

Silence, Full Stop.

Alina Gorban, a.k.a. Karina Shor (MFA 2015 Illustration as Visual Essay)

Street Noise Books

Paperback, $23.99


Gorban's Silence, Full Stop. is a breathtaking and gut-wrenchingly real graphic memoir of the struggles of an adolescent girl processing the trauma of childhood sexual assault.

Nonfiction

Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring Brad Gooch HarperCollins Hardcover/e-book/audio, $40/$21.99/$27.99 In the nearly 35 years since the tragic early death of Keith Haring (1979 Fine Arts), from AIDS-related complications, the artist’s reputation and popularity have only grown. Haring’s instantly recognizable visual vocabulary of simplified figures in motion, barking dogs, space aliens and more appear on countless T-shirts and other products, giving his work an everyday visibility enjoyed by few if any of his predecessors, contemporaries or successors. The Keith Haring Foundation keeps his commitment to public service and philanthropy alive through an extensive grants program. And a comprehensive exhibition, “Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody,” debuted at the Broad museum in Los Angeles last spring, traveled to the Art Gallery of Ontario this winter and is on view this spring and summer at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Radiant, a new book by writer Brad Gooch, aims to be the definitive record of Haring’s too-short life and career—the first extensive biography of the artist since critic John Gruen’s authorized account, in 1992. Published last month by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, the 500-page work incorporates new interviews with extensive research—including time spent in the SVA Archives—to add depth and nuance to Haring’s oft-told story: his small-town Pennsylvania childhood, his restless teenage years, his fervent creativity and quick rise to fame, and his abidingly empathic, open and gentle nature. Haring’s years at SVA—where he found a community of like-minded young artists and developed his distinctive style and methods—are of particular focus, with insights from SVA peers and friends like Frank Holliday (BFA 1980 Fine Arts), Samanthan McEwen (1979 Fine Arts) and Kenny Scharf (BFA 1981 Fine Arts) and former instructors like Lucio Pozzi and Barbara Buckner. But the most illuminating thoughts on Haring’s work and its aims come from the artist himself, sourced from his journals and contemporary press. “My drawings don’t try to imitate life,” he said in 1980. “They try to create life, to invent life.” Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring Brad Gooch HarperCollins Hardcover/e-book/audio, $40/$21.99/$27.99 In the nearly 35 years since the tragic early death of Keith Haring (1979 Fine Arts), from AIDS-related complications, the artist’s reputation and popularity have only grown. Haring’s instantly recognizable visual vocabulary of simplified figures in motion, barking dogs, space aliens and more appear on countless T-shirts and other products, giving his work an everyday visibility enjoyed by few if any of his predecessors, contemporaries or successors. The Keith Haring Foundation keeps his commitment to public service and philanthropy alive through an extensive grants program. And a comprehensive exhibition, “Keith Haring: Art Is for Everybody,” debuted at the Broad museum in Los Angeles last spring, traveled to the Art Gallery of Ontario this winter and is on view this spring and summer at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Radiant, a new book by writer Brad Gooch, aims to be the definitive record of Haring’s too-short life and career—the first extensive biography of the artist since critic John Gruen’s authorized account, in 1992. Published last month by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins, the 500-page work incorporates new interviews with extensive research—including time spent in the SVA Archives—to add depth and nuance to Haring’s oft-told story: his small-town Pennsylvania childhood, his restless teenage years, his fervent creativity and quick rise to fame, and his abidingly empathic, open and gentle nature. Haring’s years at SVA—where he found a community of like-minded young artists and developed his distinctive style and methods—are of particular focus, with insights from SVA peers and friends like Frank Holliday (BFA 1980 Fine Arts), Samanthan McEwen (1979 Fine Arts) and Kenny Scharf (BFA 1981 Fine Arts) and former instructors like Lucio Pozzi and Barbara Buckner. But the most illuminating thoughts on Haring’s work and its aims come from the artist himself, sourced from his journals and contemporary press. “My drawings don’t try to imitate life,” he said in 1980. “They try to create life, to invent life.”

The cover of the biographical book Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring (1979 Fine Arts), by Brad Gooch.

The cover of the biographical book Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring (1979 Fine Arts), by Brad Gooch.

Credit: HarperCollins
Credit: HarperCollins

Radiant: The Life and Line of Keith Haring

Brad Gooch

HarperCollins

Hardcover/e-book/audio, $40/$21.99/$27.99


In the nearly 35 years since the tragic early death of Keith Haring (1979 Fine Arts), from AIDS-related complications, the artist’s reputation and popularity have only grown. Radiant, a new book by writer Brad Gooch, aims to be the definitive record of Haring’s too-short life and career—the first extensive biography of the artist since critic John Gruen’s authorized account, in 1992.


Last Artist Standing: Living and Sustaining a Creative Life over 50

Edited by Sharon Louden (faculty, MFA Fine Arts)

Intellect Discover

Paperback, $34.95


American Modern: Architecture; Community; Columbus, Indiana

Matt Shaw (MFA 2013 Design Criticism)

Phaidon

Paperback, $75


Black, Queer, & Untold: A New Design History

Jon Key (MA 2021 Design Research, Writing and Criticism)

Levine Querido

Hardcover, $34


A Haunted Road Atlas: Next Stop

Christine Schiefer and Em Schulz; illustrated by James Mied (MFA 2024 Visual Narrative)

Andrews McMeel Publishing

Paperback/audio, $24.99/$24.99

Poetry

A painting of a woman throwing a knife at a tree trunk while a man works on the lawn in the background. A painting of a woman throwing a knife at a tree trunk while a man works on the lawn in the background.

The cover of the poetry book Nothing Happened Last Night, illustrated by alumnus Jerry Moriarty.

The cover of the poetry book Nothing Happened Last Night, illustrated by alumnus Jerry Moriarty.

Credit: Finishing Line Press
Credit: Finishing Line Press

Nothing Happened Last Night

Karen Morris (BFA 1978 Fine Arts); cover by Jerry Moriarty (retired SVA faculty)

Finishing Line Press

Paperback, $17.99


Karen Morris (BFA 1978 Fine Arts), both a poet and psychoanalyst in private practice uses Nothing Happened Last Night as a membrane for psychic contact. These are poems inscribed on the tissue-thin skin of the back of our hands before we are born. They ask where our minds flew to last night, what of the unknown companions in our dreams.


Elements of this article appear in the spring/summer 2024 and fall/winter 2024–25 issues of the Visual Arts Journal.