Book Series Guide
Bonnie Garmus

Author guide

Bonnie Garmus Books in Order

Bonnie Garmus is an American novelist, copywriter, and creative director whose professional work has focused on technology, medicine, and education. Born in California, she lives between the United Kingdom and Seattle. Her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry, became an international bestseller and was adapted into an Apple TV+ limited series.

literary fictionhistorical fictionfeminist fictionhumor

Catalog record updated .

Bonnie Garmus's Newest Book

Cover of Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry

novel · First published 2022

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans, the lonely, brilliant, Nobel Prize–nominated grudge holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results. Like science, though, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Eizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother but also the reluctant star of America's most beloved cooking show, Supper at Six. Elizabeth's unusual approach to cooking ("combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride") proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because, as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn't just teaching women how to cook. She's daring them to change the status quo.

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Cover of Lessons in Chemistry

Lessons in Chemistry

Bonnie Garmus's debut novel and only published book as of July 2026.

Outside the series

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Novels (1)
  1. Lessons in Chemistry

    novel · 2022

    Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes…

Frequently asked questions about Bonnie Garmus

Who is Bonnie Garmus?

Bonnie Garmus is an American novelist, copywriter, and creative director best known for her debut novel, Lessons in Chemistry.

Source: bonniegarmus.com (opens in a new tab)

Where did Bonnie Garmus study?

She attended Kenyon College before transferring to the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she studied aesthetic studies and creative writing.

Source: universityofcalifornia.edu (opens in a new tab)

What did Bonnie Garmus do before becoming a novelist?

She worked in science publishing and computer-manual writing before establishing herself as a copywriter and creative director focused on science and technology.

Sources: universityofcalifornia.edu (opens in a new tab)bonniegarmus.com (opens in a new tab)

What inspired Bonnie Garmus to write Lessons in Chemistry?

A workplace incident in which a male colleague took credit for her idea prompted her to begin the novel. She was also influenced by Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and by her mother’s experience as a nurse whose career was interrupted by motherhood.

Sources: penguin.co.uk (opens in a new tab)cbsnews.com (opens in a new tab)

What awards has Bonnie Garmus received?

Lessons in Chemistry won Goodreads’ 2022 Readers’ Favorite Debut Novel award and was named a Barnes & Noble Book of the Year; Garmus’s official biography also notes sixteen other international literary awards for the novel.

Sources: goodreads.com (opens in a new tab)bonniegarmus.com (opens in a new tab)