1. Susan Orlean was born on October 31,1955 and is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book.
22 Facts About Susan Orlean
1. 2.
Susan Orlean has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside.
3.
In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of HBO comedy series How To with John Wilson.
4.
Susan Orlean born in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised in nearby Shaker Heights, the daughter of Edith and Arthur Susan Orlean.
5.
Susan Orlean graduated from the University of Michigan with honors in 1976, studying literature and history.
6.
Susan Orlean has published stories in Rolling Stone, Esquire, Vogue, Outside and Spy.
7.
Susan Orlean started contributing to The New Yorker in 1987 and became a staff writer in 1992.
8.
Susan Orlean authored the book The Orchid Thief, a profile of Florida orchid grower, breeder and collector John Laroche.
9.
Susan Orlean was, in effect, made into a fictional character.
10.
Susan Orlean's previously published magazine stories have been compiled in two collections, The Bullfighter Checks Susan Orlean's Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People and My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere.
11.
Susan Orlean served as editor for Best American Essays 2005 and Best American Travel Writing 2007.
12.
Susan Orlean contributed the Ohio chapter in State By State, and in 2011 she published a biographical history of the dog actor Rin Tin Tin titled Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.
13.
When Susan Orlean's son had a school assignment to interview a city employee, he chose a librarian and together they visited the Studio City branch of the Los Angeles Public Library system which reignited her own childhood passion for libraries.
14.
Susan Orlean hired a fact-checker to ensure the book was accurate, explaining "I don't want a substantial error that changes the meaning of my book, but I don't want silly errors".
15.
In 2021, Susan Orlean joined the writing staff of television series How To with John Wilson for the show's second season on HBO.
16.
Susan Orlean married lawyer Peter Sistrom in 1983, and they divorced after 16 years of marriage.
17.
Susan Orlean was introduced by a friend to author and businessman John Gillespie, whom she married in 2001, and she gave birth to their son in 2004.
18.
Susan Orlean is step-mother to John's son from his previous marriage.
19.
Susan Orlean was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2004.
20.
Susan Orlean received an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from the University of Michigan at the spring commencement ceremony in 2012.
21.
Susan Orlean was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2014 in the "General Nonfiction" field of study.
22.
Susan Orlean was the winner of the 7th Annual Shorty Awards in the Author category, which honors the best social and digital media.