The recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship in nonfiction, Bill Hayes is a frequent contributor to the New York Times and the author of four books: SLEEP DEMONS, FIVE QUARTS, THE ANATOMIST, and INSOMNIAC CITY: New York, Oliver Sacks, and Me. His writing has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Review of Books, BuzzFeed and The Guardian.

Hayes is an established photographer, with credits including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and the New York Times. His portraits of his partner, the late Oliver Sacks, appear in the volume of Dr. Sacks’ suite of final essays, GRATITUDE. A collection of his street photography, HOW NEW YORK BREAKS YOUR HEART, will be published by Bloomsbury on February 13, 2018. His photography is represented exclusively by the Steven Kasher Gallery.

Hayes has lectured at NYU, UCSF and University of Virginia, and has appeared at the Sydney Writers Festival, the 92nd Street Y and other venues. He serves as the Creative Director of the Oliver Sacks Foundation and as a co-editor of Dr. Sacks’ posthumously published work (GRATITUDE and THE RIVER OF CONSCIOUSNESS). Hayes, 56, lives in New York City and is currently at work on a book in which he explores the history of exercise (Bloomsbury, 2019).

Books by Bill Hayes

Insomniac City: New York, Oliver Sacks, and Me

by Bill Hayes - Memoir, Nonfiction

Bill Hayes came to New York City in 2009 with a one-way ticket and only the vaguest idea of how he would get by. But, at 48 years old, having spent decades in San Francisco, he craved change. Grieving over the death of his partner, he quickly discovered the profound consolations of the city's incessant rhythms, the sight of the Empire State Building against the night sky, and New Yorkers themselves, kindred souls that Hayes, a lifelong insomniac, encountered on late-night strolls with his camera. And he unexpectedly fell in love again, with his friend and neighbor, the writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks, whose exuberance is captured in funny and touching vignettes throughout.

The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy

by Bill Hayes - Biography, History, Nonfiction