Tom Block

Tom Block is an author and artist whose first book, Shalom/Salaam: A Story of a Mystical Fraternity, was published in both English (Fons Vitae, Louisville, KY) and Turkish (Bilim + Gonul, Istanbul, Turkey) in 2010. A Fatal Addiction: War in the Name of God (Algora Publisher, NY), exploring the relationship between religion and violence, was published in 2012. His Response to Machiavelli, an exploration of the American political dynamic, was published in April 2014 (Algora Publisher, NY), and his art/activist manifesto: Prophetic Activist Art: Handbook for a Spiritual Revolution, came out in fall 2014 fall (Center for Human Ecology, Glasgow, Scotland). His fifth book, and first novel, is The Fool Returns (Anaphora Literary Press, Atlanta, GA).

He has had numerous plays developed and produced in New York and Washington DC. Reviewers have said of his plays that they offer "a fascinating and rewarding look at the multiple dimensions of faith, theory, and inspiration" and "if you’d like to explore where theater will be ten years from now it is probably worth a look."

Also a visual artist, he has exhibited his artwork in museums, universities and galleries around the United States and Europe. Mr. Block was the founding producer of the first ever Amnesty International Human Rights Art Festival, and a Research Fellow at the International Human Rights Law Institute at DePaul University, where he produced the Iraq History Project Art Festival.

He has spoken about his ideas at conferences and universities in Egypt, Turkey, Europe, the United States and Canada. He has been awarded monetary grants and other support for his writing, painting and production work from the Norman Lear Family Foundation (CA), Maryland State Arts Council (MD), Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation (NY), Sugarman Foundation (CA), Nelson Talbott Foundation (MD), Puffin Foundation (NJ), William and Mary Greve Foundation (NY), New York Foundation for the Arts (NY), Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County (MD) and Amnesty International (NY). For more information on Mr. Block’s work, please visit www.tomblock.com.