Hecht has seven published books, her scholarly articles have been published in many journals and magazines, and her poetry has appeared in "The New Yorker", "The New Republic", "Ms. Magazine", and "Poetry Magazine", among others. She has also written essays and book reviews for "The New York Times", "The Washington Post", "The Philadelphia Inquirer", "The American Scholar", "The Boston Globe" and other publications. She has written several columns for "The New York Times" online "Times Select." In 2010 Hecht was one of the five nonfiction judges for the National Book Award.