Jake Halpern

Jake Halpern is an author, journalist, and radio producer.  His first book, Braving Home (2003), was a main selection for the Book of the Month Club by Bill Bryson and was one of Library Journal's Best Books of the Year.  His next book, Fame Junkies (2007), was the basis for an original series on NPR's All Things Considered and portions of  the book were published in both the New Yorker and in Entertainment Weekly.  Jakes most recent nonfiction book, Bad Paper (FSG), was excerpted as the New York Times Magazine and it was chosen as an Amazon "Book of the Year."  Jakes debut work of fiction, a young adult trilogy, Dormia, has been hailed by the American Library Association's Booklist as a worthy heir to the Harry Potter series.  In September of 2014, Jake signed a two book deal with Putnam / Penguin for two more young adult novels.  As a journalist, Jake has written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal, GQ, Sports Illustrated, The New Republic, Slate, Smithsonian, Entertainment Weekly, Outside, New York Magazine, and other publications.  In the realm of radio, Jake is a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and This American Life.  Jake's hour-long radio story, "Switched at Birth," is on This American Life's "short list" as one of its top eight shows of all time.  One of Jake's stories is the basis for a new movie being produced by 20th Century Fox and Heyday Films (which made the Harry Potter movies).  Last, but not least, Jake is a fellow of Morse College at Yale University, where he teaches a class on journalism.  He recently returned from India where he was visiting as a Fulbright Scholar.