Moore wrote her first novel,
The Words of Every Song (
Broadway Books, 2007), while still attending Barnard College. The novel, a set of interconnected short stories related to the music industry, was partially inspired by her own experience as a musician. Moore’s second novel,
Heft (
W.W. Norton, 2012), tells the story of the unlikely relationship between 550-pound, housebound former literature professor and a troubled teenage athlete he begins to tutor. Moore says the novel “allowed [her] to explore many of the thoughts and compulsions and emotions around food and eating that had been a part of [her] since young childhood.”
Heft was well received critically and commercially. The novel was published in five countries, longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and appeared on many notable year-end “best-of” lists. In 2014, Moore was awarded the
Rome Prize in Literature from the
American Academy in Rome. During her fellowship in Rome, she completed work on her third novel,
The Unseen World (W.W. Norton, 2016). The novel deals with a young woman unraveling the mysterious past of her father, the former director of a notable Boston computer science laboratory. The story was partially inspired by Moore’s own upbringing in and around “lab culture” as the daughter of a physicist. Her fourth novel,
Long Bright River (
Riverhead Books, 2020), became an instant
New York Times and international bestseller and was featured on Barack Obama’s favorite books list. The novel was also the inspiration for a
Peacock limited TV series, released in March 2025, with Moore serving as co-creator, executive producer, and co-writer.
The God of the Woods (Riverhead Books, 2024), Moore’s fifth novel, was selected as the
Barnes & Noble Book Club pick in July 2024. It went on to be shortlisted for the Barnes & Noble Book of the Year award. It was selected for
Barack Obama's Summer Reading List and voted by viewers of
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as their choice for the Summer 2024 Fallon Book Club. Moore appeared as a guest on
The Tonight Show in recognition of the book's selection. ==Personal life==