William O'Rourke (born December 4, 1945) is an American writer of both novels and volumes of nonfiction; he is the author of the novels The Meekness of Isaac (Thomas Y. Crowell, Co., 1974), Idle Hands (Delacorte Press, 1981), Criminal Tendencies (E. P. Dutton, 1987), and Notts (Marlowe & Co, 1996), as well as the nonfiction books, The Harrisburg 7 and the New Catholic Left (Thomas Y. Crowell, Co., 1972), Signs of the Literary Times: Essays, Reviews, Profiles (SUNY Press, 1993), and On Having a Heart Attack: A Medical Memoir (U of Notre Dame P, 2006).
His book, Campaign America '96: The View From the Couch, first published in 1997 (Marlowe & Co.), was reissued in paperback with a new, updated epilogue in 2000.
His first book, The Harrisburg 7 and the New Catholic Left (1972), covered the trial of the a group of religious anti-war activists, known as the "Harrisburg Seven," and his account was heralded by Garry Wills in the New York Times Book Review as "the best volume on any of the recent political trials" and "a clinical X ray of our society's condition.
"[3] He followed up his court reporting with his first novel, The Meekness of Isaac (1974), while working as a laborer at Feller's Scenery Studio in the South Bronx.
O'Rourke taught journalism at Newark State College (now Kean University) from 1973–74, before moving to Rutgers–Newark (journalism and creative writing) and then Mount Holyoke College (creative writing) in South Hadley, MA.