Peter H. Sarno

Sarno cites Ann Beattie, Andre Dubus, and Richard Russo as some of his influences. His novel Visions of Johanna was published in 2022. It was named one of the "Best Reviewed Books of September" by IndieReader and one of the "20 Favorites From 2022 That You’ve Probably Never Heard Of" by BookTrib. Of that book, Kirkus Reviews said ,"Johanna and Matt's romance is deep and intense…Sarno, an award-winning nonfiction author, literature professor, and journalist, paints an evocative portrait of New York and Boston in the '80s…The details of Matt's backstory are rich and intriguing." In a starred review, Booklist wrote, "Sarno’s beautifully written literary novel concerns an unlikely pairing…The author skillfully portrays Matt, drawing readers into the story with his use of metaphor and lush language…As the story reaches its affecting conclusion, readers may even shed a tear or two."

In 2011, Sarno founded PFP Publishing. That house subsequently released works by Roland Merullo, Craig Nova, Suzanne Strempek Shea, Elizabeth Searle, Steve Forbert, Sterling Watson, Tony Eprile, Jaime Clarke, Beth Harrington, Lloyd Schwartz, Askold Melnyczuk, Peggy Rambach, Anne Driscoll, Matthew Phillion, and several other authors. Of that effort, Michael Upchurch of the Seattle Times wrote, "Craig Nova’s 1989 masterpiece, Tornado Alley, is back in both e-book and physical formats, thanks to PFP Publishing, the brainchild of Peter Sarno, a University of Massachusetts literature instructor who’s making out-of-print classics available so he can—for one thing—keep teaching them."

Peter H. Sarno (March 31, 1954) is an American novelist, short story writer, journalist, editor, and teacher.