[4] Piatigorsky is the author of several books, including a scientific textbook, a memoir, a novel and a collection of short stories.

Over the course of his career in science, he has published more than 300 scientific articles, reviews and book chapters on vision research.

[7] He co-edited a book on an international symposium he organized: Molecular Biology of the Eye: Genes, Vision and Ocular Disease.

[8] His debut novel, Jellyfish Have Eyes (IP Books, 2014), forewarns of the danger of reducing funding for basic research,[9] and has garnered positive reviews in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[10][11][12] In his memoir, The Speed of Dark (Adelaide Books, 2018), Piatigorsky reflects on his 50-year career as a scientific researcher and describes how his family's pursuit of excellence and his father's quest for musical perfection influenced and inspired his own scientific career.