In a wide range of recently published books, Pratt Institute alumni continue to shape the cultural and creative landscape. Prattfolio’s 2025 collection of new alumni works highlights titles spanning genres, disciplines, and styles—from artist books, literature, and stories for young readers to deep dives on topics like greatness in architecture, the world of insects, and the history of the rose.
Architecture
Strategic Rebuilding and Affordable Housing in the Muslim World (Lexington Books)
Akel Ismail Kahera, BArch ’77
This volume edited by and featuring contributions from Akel Ismail Kahera brings together 16 essays that investigate the role of architecture with an emphasis on affordable housing in Muslim communities. Utilizing a range of research methodologies, the book’s multidisciplinary contributors address a range of policies and recommendations for rebuilding housing and improving overall living conditions, from Malaysia to Egypt. Available at bloomsbury.com.
Greatness (Oro Editions)
Pascale Sablan, BArch ’06
Celebrating the work of 47 contemporary architects and designers from around the world, this anthology from architect and activist Pascale Sablan addresses the question of “greatness” in architecture and sheds light on often-overlooked contributions to the field. Through profiles, essays, and project case studies, Greatness highlights how the discipline at large and the built environment—from residential, cultural, institutional, and master plan design—have been and continue to be shaped by designers from a range of backgrounds. Available at oroeditions.com.
Art & Artist Books
The East Village Cookbook
Haley Kattner Allen, MFA Photography ’15
During the pandemic, three East Village residents—Will Kroeze, a pastor; Dan Hyatt, a middle school teacher; and Will Horowitz, a chef and author—became friends while spending time with their dogs at the Tompkins Square Park Dog Run. They turned their conversations into action by creating a cookbook with photography by Haley Kattner Allen to support Trinity Lower East Side Services and Food for the Homeless on Ninth Street and Avenue B, with recipes from neighborhood staples like Veselka and Nom Wah. Available at evcookbook.com.
Thr0mb0 Y
Ben Ross Davis, MFA Communications Design ’18
Multimedia artist Ben Ross Davis’s Thr0mb0 Y, a follow-up to his 2018 book Thr0mb0 X, is a culmination of original work documenting Davis’s “experience of living as a gay artist in the past six years” between Berlin and Brooklyn amid a shifting political climate. Composed of previously unshown work depicting his process of producing paintings, collage, photography, illustration, performance, and more, to these projects’ final execution, Davis’s aims to “present an uncensored version of [his] queer life” (artist’s website). Learn more at benrossdavis.com.
My Book of the Dead
Kathleen Edwards, BFA Communications Design ’78
For Kathleen Edwards, art is not only a means to earn a living, but also a way to summon resiliency in the face of life’s challenges. In her graphic memoir My Book of the Dead, winner of the 2025 National Indie Excellence Award for Comics/Graphic Novel, Edwards recounts her upbringing in an Evangelical Christian family shot through with the fear of mortality, nurturing her creative talents, and grappling with divorce and her parents’ deaths. Learn more at kathleenedwardsartist.com.
Lots of Lots (Mack)
Jason Fulford, BFA CommD ’96
Jason Fulford’s Lots of Lots, inspired by Sol LeWitt’s 1977 PhotoGrids, comprises nearly 700 images cleverly arranged in 3×3 grids. Fulford’s compositions reveal an intricate web of connection between everyday objects, offering viewers a glimpse at “beauty among endless production and consumption.” Available at mackbooks.us.
Drawing Music, Marking Time (Bloomsbury Visual Arts)
David Griffin, MFA Painting ’99
David Griffin’s Drawing Music, Marking Time exposes the intricate nature of Western music notation and how its simple two-dimensional geometry transforms into complex, four-dimensional performances. Examining composers like Bach and John Cage, Griffin delves into the notation’s structural properties, illustrating the interplay of graphic and linguistic elements in music notation with textual analysis and visual examples. Available at bloomsbury.com.
Art as Information Ecology: Artworks, Artworlds, and Complex Systems Aesthetics (audiobook; Duke University Press)
Jason Hoelscher, MFA Fine Arts (Painting) ’00
In Art as Information Ecology—now available as an audiobook—Jason Hoelscher develops a multifaceted theory about art and its function, arguing that art exists as a dynamic, unresolved form of information that thrives on difference rather than answers. Through his analyses of 1960s American art, Hoelscher shows how these unresolved differences create an evolving dialogue between artwork and viewer, challenging notions of information as quantifiable or fixed. Available at dukeupress.edu.
The Empty Lot (Fantagraphics)
Mia Wolff, BFA Fine Arts ’73
A monograph from artist Mia Wolff, The Empty Lot depicts scenes of a surreal dream that moves through the painter’s own Brooklyn neighborhood and across the city. Culminating at one especially fantastical locale—a portal to a demon on Canal Street—the book also includes a conversation between Wolff and science fiction author Samuel R. Delany. Available at fantagraphics.com.
Design
Designing for Local Communities (Bloomsbury Visual Arts)
Meaghan Barry, BFA Communications Design ’10
Meaghan Barry’s Designing for Local Communities is a practical guide for aspiring freelance designers looking to get started close to home. Centered on working with small businesses and nonprofits, the book offers approachable tools, interviews, and exercises to help build confidence and a portfolio. Barry reframes what success can look like in design, making a case for community-rooted creative work. Available at bloomsbury.com.
Bell Telephone System’s Preeminent Role in the Growth of Industrial Design (Purdue University Press)
This book by Ralph O. Meyer and Russell A. Flinchum offers a detailed case study of Bell Telephone System’s corded telephone on early communication and industrial design. Among the highlighted work is that of Donald Genaro, BID ’57, who played a key role in the final design of the Trimline telephone, and Arthur Shilstone, Certificate, Illustration ’47, who created a holiday card design for Bell System’s Western Electric Company. The book explores how their work, along with other innovators, helped shape a product that reached over 100 million American homes. Available at press.purdue.edu.
An Endless Journey: Corporación América Airports (Oscar Riera Ojeda Publishers)
Marcelo Minoliti, MPS Design Management ’99
Marcelo Minoliti contributes to An Endless Journey, a chronicle of Corporación América Airports, the world’s largest international airport operator. Spanning nearly 50 years and 50 terminals across Latin America, Europe, and Asia, the book details the company’s transformation through industry innovation, sustainability efforts, and its mission to connect people, cultures, and continents. Available at oropublishers.com.
Education & Community Engagement
Critical Issues in Caribbean Museums (Routledge)
Daniela Fifi, EdD, BFA Communications Design ’13
The repatriation of artifacts, inclusive education, and policymaking are among the topics examined in Critical Issues in Caribbean Museums, coauthored and edited by curator and educator Daniela Fifi. The volume containing five case studies provides an invaluable resource for scholars and practitioners wrestling with the ways that postcolonial legacies complicate the collection, preservation, and display of Caribbean cultural heritage. Available at routledge.com.
Creative Instigation: The Art & Strategy of Authentic Community Engagement (NYU Press)
Fern Tiger, BFA Art Education ’67; MS Art Education ’68
Creative Instigation offers real-world examples from strategist Fern Tiger’s multiyear community engagement and policy-making efforts in cities across the US west. Equally highlighting both successes and setbacks, this book is a guide for those working with organizations, institutions, and communities on how to wield essential transdisciplinary skills towards solutions to social issues. Available at nyupress.org.
The High-Impact Digital Library: Innovative Approaches for Outreach and Instruction (ALA Editions)
Rachel Jane Wittmann, MSLIS ’13
Featuring contributions from School of Information alum Rachel Jane Wittmann, The High Impact Digital Library explores replicable outreach strategies for digital collections managers, emphasizing proactive engagement with faculty, students, and communities that these libraries serve. In the wake of the COVID lockdown, the volume emphasizes the evolving role of digital libraries in open pedagogy and community engagement. Available at alastore.ala.org.
Fiction & Poetry
Child of Light (Whiskey Tit)
Jesi Bender, MSLIS ’11
With the first transmission of alternating-current power from Niagara Falls to Buffalo, New York, inventors Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse bested direct-current proponent Thomas Edison in the infamous “War of the Currents” in 1896. Set in rural upstate New York in this momentous year, Jesi Bender’s Child of Light is an experimental novel that follows 13-year-old Ambrétte Memenon’s quest to draw her parents closer through an exploration of her mother’s spiritualism and her father’s passion for electricity. Available at whiskeytit.com.
A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe (Crown Books for Young Readers)
Mahogany L. Browne, MFA Writing ’16
Mahogany L. Browne’s newest short story collection weaves together prose and poetry from a cast of New York City teens during the height of the COVID-19 lockdown. Geared toward young adults, A Bird in the Air Means We Can Still Breathe underscores the necessity of community and the resilience of youth in the face of loss and grief. Available at penguinrandomhouse.com.
One Big Open Sky (Holiday House)
Lesa Cline-Ransome, BFA Fashion Merchandising ’87
Following the Civil War and decades before the Great Migration, thousands of Black homesteaders traveled West in search of the opportunity to build better lives. Lesa Cline-Ransome’s novel in verse One Big Open Sky, recognized with a Coretta Scott King Author Honor and a Newbery Honor in 2025, vividly evokes this movement through the perspectives of 11-year-old Lettie, her pregnant mother Sylvia, and the young teacher Philomena as they undertake a perilous covered-wagon journey from Mississippi to Nebraska. Available at holidayhouse.com.
the word you were looking for (Plan B Press)
Claire Ledoyen, BFA Creative Writing ’16
In the word you were looking for, Claire LeDoyen fuses poetry, movement, and mysticism to explore the body’s relationship to space, language, and time. Written in part through improvised dance and guided by intuitive and spiritual inquiry, this collection treats the page as a living field: words act as charged bodies, memories, and ghosts, vibrating in and out of form. Available at planbpress.com.
A Catalogue of Risk (Wendy’s Subway)
Alisha Mascarenhas, MFA Writing ’19
The recipient of the 2022 Carolyn Bush Award, Alisha Mascarenhas’s debut collection of poems is part close-study and part translation of philosopher-psychoanalyst Anne Dufourmantelle’s Éloge du risque (2011). A Catalogue of Risk explores the concept of risk as a fissure within the neoliberal market economy, prompting readers to envision new societal possibilities through cracks in the existing systems. Available at wendyssubway.com.
Nonfiction
Insectopolis: A Natural History (W. W. Norton)
Peter Kuper, BFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’82
From award-winning cartoonist Peter Kuper, Insectopolis merges history, science, and design into the illustrated world of insects’ 400-million-year existence. Written in response to the ongoing impacts of climate change, Kuper brings to light the stories of naturalists, from both the well-known to those overlooked by history. Available at wwnorton.com.
Shy of the Squirrel’s Foot: A Peripheral History of the Jargon Society as Told Through Its Missing Books (The University of North Carolina Press)
Andy Martrich, MSLIS ’10
Andy Matrich’s Shy of the Squirrels Foot chronicles the history of Asheville, North Carolina–based publisher The Jargon Society, focusing on the books the Society cataloged but never published. Matrich probes the gaps in the Society’s vast bibliographic archive from the imprint, which aimed to “seek out writers, poets and photographers who . . . were under-recognized, outside of the mainstream, but deeply deserving of attention” (Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center). Available at uncpress.org.
The Rose Book (Phaidon)
Kristine Paulus, MSLIS ’03
The Rose Book, cowritten by Kristine Paulus, writer and head of acquisitions and technical services at the New York Botanical Garden’s library, explores depictions of the rose across history and popular culture. This collection of essays, a rose glossary, and over 200 images celebrate the flower’s significance, featuring works by Georgia O’Keeffe and Christian Dior. Available at phaidon.com.
Ritual
Rob Redding, MFA Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) ’22
In Ritual, artist and talk show host Rob Redding explores the role of ritual in contemporary society with a focus on rites from the Christian church. Analyzing its influence among younger generations, Redding argues for a reimagining of ritual practices to maintain their significance in our lives. Learn more at robredding.com.
Born Into Loss: Shadows of a Deceased Sibling and Family Journeys of Grief (Rowman & Littlefield)
Sarah Vollmann, MPS Art Therapy ’97
This nonfiction work from Sarah Vollmann sheds light on the experiences of subsequent siblings—those born after the death of a brother or sister—pairing personal stories with clinical insights. Drawing from more than 100 interviews, Vollman explores the complex emotional challenges faced by these siblings: identity struggles, survivor guilt, and family dynamics, while also addressing the lasting impacts of parental grief and the concept of the “replacement child.” Available at rowman.com.
Kamala: Her Historic, Joyful, and Auspicious Sprint to the White House (37 Ink)
Deborah Willis, MFA Fine Arts ’79, and Kevin Merida
Kamala Harris’s unprecedented 107-day 2024 presidential campaign is commemorated in the photographic biography Kamala: Her Historic, Joyful, and Auspicious Sprint to the White House. Photographer and photo historian Deborah Willis curated nearly 150 images that showcase the joy and connection that Harris fostered on the trail, thematically organized in sections like “Family & Early Life,” “The Ascent,” and “Powerful Rooms,” complemented with essays by journalist Kevin Merida. Available from simonandschuster.com.
Every Monday Mabel (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers)
Jashar Awan, BFA Communications Design ’04
Every Monday Mabel, a picture book from author-illustrator Jashar Awan, follows Mabel, a young girl who eagerly anticipates the arrival of the garbage truck every Monday—which she calls the best part of the week. While her family might not understand, Mabel isn’t alone in her excitement as the truck makes its route through her community, driving past other windows pressed with smiling faces. Available at simonandschuster.com.
Oxette (Pasture Pine Press)
Lea Patrice Fales, MFA Fine Arts ’16
Lea Patrice Fales’ debut book tells the story of Virginia, a small cow with big dreams of plowing, haying, logging, and sleighing. Yet, with feet too long for any task, she finds herself wandering the pasture, longing for a place to belong—until a new friendship helps her discover her true purpose. Available at pasturepinepress.com.
Amazing Grapes (Michael di Capua Books)
Jules Feiffer, Illustration
The first children’s graphic novel by Pulitzer Prize winner and Comic Book Hall of Fame inductee Jules Feiffer (1929–2025), Amazing Grapes transports a family to another dimension on a quest to self-actualize. Feiffer’s playful, signature ink line drawings depict an array of zany characters to convey an introspective message about the power of imagination and familial healing. Available at harpercollins.com.
The Hawaiian Numbers (Acme Tiki Co.)
C. Edward Jolliffe, BFA Communications Design (Graphic Design) ’91
In the 1980s, when fewer than 50 children in Hawaii could speak the Hawaiian language, activists defied a 90-year ban on teaching Hawaiian in schools and founded the first Pūnana Leo (“language nest”) to immerse preschoolers in their native language. Today, there are 11 such schools, and over 4,000 students learn and speak Hawaiian every day. Contributing to this revival, C. Edward Jolliffe’s The Hawaiian Numbers helps children practice counting to 20 in Hawaiian with whimsical illustrations and eye-popping, midcentury-inspired typography. It is the second volume in a trilogy that started with The Hawaiian Alphabet. Learn more at hawaiialphabet.com.
Prisons Must Fall (Haymarket Books)
Mariame Kaba, MSLIS ’22
Coauthored by Mariame Kaba, New York Times–bestselling author of We Do This ’Til We Free Us, and social worker Jane Ball, Prisons Must Fall explores the harm incarceration causes through the eyes of a child who catches a glimpse of a prison complex. A resource for teaching children about social justice and change, this book with illustrations by Olly Costello looks critically at the prison system and envisions a world where connection, healing, and collective action replace it. Available at haymarketbooks.org.