ANDREW D. KAUFMAN
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Author of The Gambler Wife (PEN America Finalist), now being adapted into a major international film starring Aimee Lou Wood
Founder of Books Behind Bars, the renowned social justice–oriented education program featured on PBS and in The Washington Post
Creator of a developing book and podcast project exploring the power of literature to transform lives inside America’s jails
Stream the PBS documentary about Andrew’s “Books Behind Bars” program.
Stream the PBS documentary about Andrew’s “Books Behind Bars” program.
ANDREW KAUFMAN
ANDREW KAUFMAN
Andrew D. Kaufman is an author, scholar, and speaker whose work bridges literature, history, and human transformation. His books and teaching have been featured on The Today Show, NPR, PBS, and Oprah.com, as well as in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Moscow Times.
A longtime professor at the University of Virginia and a Stanford-trained scholar of Russian literature, Kaufman is the author of THE GAMBLER WIFE: A True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky, a finalist for the 2022 PEN America Literary Award for Biography. The book is now being adapted into an international feature film starring Aimee Lou Wood, currently in production and positioned for major festivals.
He is also the author of GIVE 'WAR AND PEACE' A CHANCE: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times and UNDERSTANDING TOLSTOY, as well as co-author of RUSSIAN FOR DUMMIES, now in its third edition. A frequent media contributor whose work has been widely covered in outlets such as The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, PBS, and more, Kaufman is regularly invited to speak on Russian literature, history, culture, contemporary Russian politics, and how timeless literature speaks to moral courage and human transformation.
In addition to his literary work, Kaufman is a nationally recognized innovator in social justice–oriented teaching. At UVA, he founded Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature, and Leadership — a celebrated community-based course in which university students and incarcerated youth and adults engage in life-changing conversations about Russian literature and meaning. The course has been widely covered in the media and is the subject of the PBS-featured documentary Seats at the Table.
Exclusively represented by BrightSight Speakers, Kaufman is an in-demand keynote speaker who has spoken at TEDx, the Aspen Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Russian Academy of Sciences, Yasnaya Polyana (Leo Tolstoy’s estate), and at universities, libraries, corporations, and conferences across the United States. A professionally trained actor and dynamic storyteller, Kaufman draws on the wisdom of great books and his own teaching journey to offer audiences nourishment for the mind and soul — and timely insights on how to stay connected, courageous, and fully human in divided times.
He is currently developing a book and podcast project exploring the power of literature to transform lives inside America’s jails.
To learn more about Dr. Kaufman, please visit his website at www.AndrewDKaufman.com
Speech topics
Speech topics
The Courage to Stay Human: Choosing Connection Over Fear
The Courage to Stay Human: Choosing Connection Over Fear
A major motion picture is about to bring Andrew D. Kaufman’s critically acclaimed book The Gambler Wife to the big screen. But the story behind the story — and why it matters now — runs deeper.
In this timely talk, Kaufman shares the real-life journey of Anna Dostoyevskaya, the remarkable woman who helped save her famous husband Fyodor Dostoyevsky from destruction — and reshaped literary history. Her courage wasn’t loud. It was steadfast, resilient, rooted in love.
Kaufman also draws on his own journey — from teaching in elite college classrooms to leading transformative literature seminars in jails. There, he has seen firsthand how stories of human struggle and moral complexity can awaken hope in even the darkest places.
In a time when fear pushes us apart, it’s connection — quiet, human, real — that carries us through.
Perfect for audiences navigating burnout, uncertainty, or personal reinvention, this talk delivers not only insight but courage.
Reclaiming Your Power and Purpose in Troubled Times
Reclaiming Your Power and Purpose in Troubled Times
Scholar and educational entrepreneur Andrew Kaufman shares inspirational lessons about reclaiming your power and purpose in life’s most challenging moments. Recounting what he learned from the sudden death of his father, encounters with inmates in his prison classes, and his bold decision to abandon a university professorship to pursue a higher passion, Kaufman inspires listeners to dig deep and discover new paths to meaning and fulfillment no matter the circumstances.
Transforming Yesterday’s Mistakes Into Tomorrow’s Triumphs
Transforming Yesterday’s Mistakes Into Tomorrow’s Triumphs
In this entertaining keynote scholar and educational entrepreneur Andrew Kaufman tells the improbable story of how, as a young man fresh out of a Stanford Ph.D. program, he struggled as a Hollywood actor, gambled wildly in Las Vegas, and was bilked out of large sums of money by an unscrupulous business partner. Some two decades later, however, those roller-coaster years would become the inspiration behind some of Kaufman’s greatest creative and professional successes: four books (one of which is being adapted into a feature film), a nationally recognized prison education program that is the subject of a PBS documentary, and a university professorship. Kaufman shares how his experiences have taught him the value of taking risks, believing in yourself, and transforming yesterday’s mistakes into tomorrow’s triumphs.
Books
Books
The Gambler Wife: A True Story of Love, Risk, and the Woman Who Saved Dostoyevsky
An intimate new portrait of the bold and determined woman who saved Dostoyevsky's life—and became a pioneer in Russian literary history.
In the fall of 1866—against the backdrop of Russia's first feminist movement—an independent-minded young stenographer named Anna Snitkina went to work for a writer she idolized: Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The volatile and visionary novelist was already a celebrated literary provocateur, yet Anna found him "terribly unhappy, broken, tormented," sickened by epilepsy, anguished by the recent loss of his wife—and in thrall to a gambling addiction that kept him on the verge of emotional and financial ruin.
In the fall of 1866—against the backdrop of Russia's first feminist movement—an independent-minded young stenographer named Anna Snitkina went to work for a writer she idolized: Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The volatile and visionary novelist was already a celebrated literary provocateur, yet Anna found him "terribly unhappy, broken, tormented," sickened by epilepsy, anguished by the recent loss of his wife—and in thrall to a gambling addiction that kept him on the verge of emotional and financial ruin.
Book out on AUGUST 31, 2021
Understanding Tolstoy
Understanding Tolstoy recreates Tolstoy’s lifelong artistic and spiritual journey, taking readers to the core of the writer’s world through nuanced close readings of his major novels and novellas.
Give War and Peace a Chance: Tolstoyan Wisdom for Troubled Times
From a popular Tolstoy scholar: an entertaining, thought-provoking, and accessible argument for why War and Peace is more relevant to readers now than ever.
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