1974 is an immersive memoir written by a National Book Award finalist and esteemed critic who turns to her personal life for material for the first time. Francine Prose grew up in Brooklyn, the daughter of two doctors. In 1974, she had already published her first novel, but then dropped out of grad school at Harvard to travel to San Francisco, which was then the epicenter of the counterculture movement. Here she starts a relationship with Tony Russo, who along with Daniel Elsberg was responsible for leaking the Pentagon Papers. 1974 is reminiscent of Patti Smith’s Just Kids. The two books share so much in how both Patti Smith and Francine write so candidly about being young and broke and finding your way as an artist as well as a desire to resist the mainstream. The book will be published by HarperCollins in 2024.