Editing Susan Orlean

{{short description|American journalist and author}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
|name = Susan Orlean
|image = Susan Orlean 2018.jpg
|image_size = 250px
|caption = Orlean at the 2018 Texas Book Festival
|birth_name = Susan Orlean
|birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1955|10|31|mf=y}}
|birth_place = [[Cleveland]], Ohio, United States
|occupation = Journalist, author
|nationality = American
|education =[[University of Michigan]]
|genre =
|subject =
|movement =
| website = {{URL|susanorlean.com/}}
|imagesize = 
}}
'''Susan Orlean''' (born October 31, 1955) is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of ''[[The Orchid Thief]]'' and ''[[The Library Book]]''. She has been a staff writer for ''[[The New Yorker]]'' since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including ''[[Vogue (magazine)|Vogue]]'', ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'', and ''[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]]''. In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of [[HBO]] comedy series ''[[How To with John Wilson]]''.

Orlean's 1998 non-fiction book ''The Orchid Thief'' was adapted into the film ''[[Adaptation (film)|Adaptation]]'' (2002). [[Meryl Streep]] received an [[Academy Award]] nomination for her performance as Orlean.

==Early life==
Orlean born in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], and was raised in nearby [[Shaker Heights, Ohio|Shaker Heights]],<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Orlean |first1=Susan |title=Growing Up in the Library: Learning and relearning what it means to have a book on borrowed time. |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/growing-up-in-the-library |access-date=October 27, 2018 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]] |date=October 5, 2018}}</ref> the daughter of Edith (née Gross 1923–2016)<ref>{{cite web |title=Orlean, Edith |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/community/lifecycles/obituaries/orlean-edith/article_c8f178f0-cf43-11e5-aefb-2b4d205acad2.html |website=[[Cleveland Jewish News]] |language=en |date=9 February 2016}}</ref> and Arthur Orlean (1915–2007).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tarullo |first1=Hope |editor1-last=Thompson |editor1-first=Clifford |title=[[Current Biography Yearbook]] |date=2003 |publisher=The H. W. Wilson Company|location=New York |pages=391–394 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/currentbiography0000unse_v7g5/page/390/mode/2up |chapter=Orlean, Susan}}</ref> She has a sister and a brother. Her family is [[Jewish]]. Her mother's family is from [[Hungarian Jews|Hungary]] and her father's family from [[Polish Jews|Poland]]. Her father was an attorney and businessman.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arthur E. Orlean |url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/archives/article_fd378f4a-b84d-5637-8154-8aac3f665f0c.html |website=[[Cleveland Jewish News]] |language=en |date=10 August 2007}}</ref>

Orlean graduated from the [[University of Michigan]] with honors in 1976,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2012-03-15|title=Six to receive honorary degrees at U-M spring commencement ceremonies|url=https://news.umich.edu/six-to-receive-honorary-degrees-at-u-m-spring-commencement-ceremonies/|access-date=2021-04-22|website=University of Michigan News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Art of the Profile with Susan Orlean |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9FPXCndJlU |website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences |date=27 April 2011}}</ref> studying literature and history. After college she moved to [[Portland, Oregon]], and was planning on going to law school, when she began writing for the ''[[Willamette Week]]''.<ref name=":0" />

==Career==
Orlean has published stories in ''Rolling Stone'', ''Esquire'', ''Vogue'', ''Outside'' and ''Spy''. In 1982, she became a staff writer for the ''Boston Phoenix'' and later a regular contributor to the ''[[Boston Globe]] Sunday Magazine''.<ref name=":0" /> Her first book, ''Saturday Night'', was published in 1990, shortly after she moved to [[New York City]] from [[Boston]] and began writing for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. She started contributing to ''The New Yorker'' in 1987 and became a staff writer in 1992.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|title=Susan Orlean|url=https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-orlean|access-date=2021-04-22|magazine=The New Yorker|language=en}}</ref>

Orlean authored the book ''[[The Orchid Thief]]'', a profile of Florida [[orchid]] grower, breeder and collector [[John Laroche]]. The book formed the basis of [[Charlie Kaufman]]'s script for the [[Spike Jonze]] film ''[[Adaptation (film)|Adaptation.]]''<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2019-02-16|title=The Library Book by Susan Orlean – what LA lost when its library burned down|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/feb/16/the-library-book-review-by-susan-orlean|access-date=2021-04-22|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref> Orlean (portrayed by [[Meryl Streep]],<ref name="LAT 2019-04-12" /> who won a [[Golden Globe]] for the performance) was, in effect, made into a fictional character. The movie portrayed her becoming Laroche's lover and partner in a drug production operation, in which orchids were processed into a psychoactive substance.

In 1998, Orlean's article "Life's Swell" was published in ''Women's Outside''. The article, a feature on a group of young [[surfer]] girls in [[Maui]], become the basis of the film ''[[Blue Crush]]''.<ref name="LAT 2019-04-12" />

In 1999, she co-wrote ''The Skinny: What Every Skinny Woman Knows About Dieting (And Won't Tell You!)'' under her married name, Susan Sistrom. Her previously published magazine stories have been compiled in two collections, ''[[The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup|The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People]]'' and ''My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere''. She also served as editor for ''Best American Essays 2005'' and ''Best American Travel Writing 2007''. She contributed the Ohio chapter in ''State By State'' (2008), and in 2011 she published a biographical history of the dog actor [[Rin Tin Tin]] titled ''Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend''.<ref name="LAT 2019-04-12" />

When 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.<ref>Lewis, Michael. [https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/books/review/susan-orlean-library-book.html "The Library Fire That Ignited an Author’s Imagination"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 15 October 2018. Retrieved on 3 January 2020.</ref> After an immersive project involving three years of research and two years of writing on the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library, ''[[The Library Book]]'' was released in October 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-susan-orlean-library-20181011-htmlstory.html|title=Who started the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Library? Susan Orlean investigates in her new book|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn|date=October 11, 2018|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 13, 2019}}</ref> The book uses the context of the April 1986 fire to explore the role of the public library, who uses them, and the void created if they are lost.<ref name=":2" /> 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 also don't want silly errors".<ref name="nyt-alter">{{cite web |last1=Alter |first1=Alexandra |title=It's a Fact: Mistakes Are Embarrassing the Publishing Industry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/22/business/publishing-books-errors.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 25, 2019 |date=September 22, 2019}}</ref> She collaborated on the adaption for television.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/la-et-susan-orlean-tv-rights-20190402-story.html|title=Susan Orlean's book about 1986 L.A. library fire headed to television|last=Schaub|first=Michael|date=April 2, 2019|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 13, 2019}}</ref>

In 2021, Orlean joined the writing staff of television series ''[[How To with John Wilson]]'' for the show's second season on [[HBO]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-11-11|title='How To With John Wilson' Season 2 Trailer Reveals the Return of Everyone's Favorite Anxious New Yorker|url=https://collider.com/how-to-with-john-wilson-season-2-trailer-hbo-max/|access-date=2021-12-01|website=Collider|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Orlean married lawyer Peter Sistrom (1955–2021) in 1983, and they divorced after 16 years of marriage. She 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.<ref name="LAT 2019-04-12">{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/home/la-hm-susan-orlean-schindler-home-20190412-story.html|title=Havens: Susan Orlean and R.M. Schindler, a love story in two chapters|last=Haldeman|first=Peter|date=April 12, 2019|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=April 13, 2019}}</ref>

She is also step-mother to John's son from his previous marriage.<ref name="auto">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/style/weddings-vow-susan-orlean-john-gillespie-jr.html|title=WEDDINGS: VOW; Susan Orlean, John Gillespie Jr.|first=Kathryn|last=Shattuck|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 2, 2001|access-date=July 23, 2018}}</ref>

Orlean is a self-confessed "maniac about architecture."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Keith |first1=Kelsey |title=Home Sweet Home: Susan Orlean |url=https://archive.curbed.com/2016/3/1/11131486/susan-orlean-home |website=Curbed |date=March 1, 2016}}</ref> In 2017, she sold a [[Mid-century modern|Mid-Century Modern]] home in [[Studio City, California]] that was designed by architect [[Rudolph Schindler (architect)|Rudolph Schindler]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zap |first1=Claudine |title=Author Susan Orlean Selling Mid-Century Modern in Studio City for $2.3M |url=https://www.realtor.com/news/celebrity-real-estate/susan-orlean-selling-studio-city/ |website=Realtor.com |date=October 5, 2017}}</ref>

==Awards and honors==
Orlean was a [[Nieman Fellow]] at Harvard University in 2004.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=A Conversation with Susan Orlean|url=https://nieman.harvard.edu/events/a-conversation-with-susan-orlean/|access-date=2021-04-22|website=Nieman Foundation|language=en-US}}</ref> She received an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from the [[University of Michigan]] at the spring commencement ceremony in 2012.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> She was awarded a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]] in 2014 in the "General Nonfiction" field of study.<ref>[http://flavorwire.com/newswire/this-years-guggenheim-fellows-include-susan-orlean-and-claire-watkins Guggenheim Fellows announced] accessed March 20, 2015</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=John Simon Guggenheim Foundation {{!}} Susan Orlean|url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/all-fellows/susan-orlean/|access-date=2021-04-22|language=en-US}}</ref> Orlean was the winner of the 7th Annual [[Shorty Awards]] in the Author category, which honors the best social and digital media.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Author in Social Media - Shorty Awards|url=https://shortyawards.com/category/7th/author|access-date=2021-04-22|website=shortyawards.com}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
{{Incomplete list |date=April 2018}}

=== Books ===
* {{cite book <!--|author=Orlean, Susan--> |title=Saturday Night |location= |publisher=Replica Books |year=1997 <!--|isbn=9780735100091-->}}
* ''[[The Orchid Thief]]'' (1998) {{ISBN|9781568957364}}
* ''[[The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup|The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People]]'' (2001) {{ISBN|9781409006534}}
* ''My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere'' (2004) (Random House Trade Paperbacks). {{ISBN|9780812974874}}
* ''Animalish'' (Kindle Single) (2011)
* ''[[Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend]]'' (2011) {{ISBN|9781439190142}}
* ''The Floral Ghost'' (2016) {{ISBN|9780986281495}}
* ''[[The Library Book]]'' (2018) (Simon and Schuster). {{ISBN|9781476740188}}
* {{cite book <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 --> |title=On Animals |location= |publisher= |year=2021 <!--|isbn=-->}}

===Essays and reporting===
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan -->|date=December 1992 |title=The American male at age ten |journal=Esquire}}
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|date=September 6, 2021 |title=The Homesick Restaurant |department=Popular Chronicles. January 15, 1996 |journal=The New Yorker |volume=97 |issue=27 |pages=42–47 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/09/06/magazine19960115the-homesick-restaurant <!--|access-date=2022-08-23-->}}<ref group=lower-alpha>Online version is titled "The Homesick Restaurant Run by Cuban Refugees". Originally published in the January 15, 1996 issue.</ref>
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|year=1998|title=Life's Swell |journal=Women's Outside}}
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|date=September 28, 2009|title=The It bird |department=Popular Chronicles |journal=The New Yorker |volume=85 |issue=30 |pages=26–31 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/09/28/the-it-bird <!--access-date=2018-04-08-->}}
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|date=February 11–18, 2013 |title=Walart |department=Onward and Upward with the Arts |journal=The New Yorker |volume=89 |issue=1 |pages=46–50 }}<ref group=lower-alpha>[[Brendan O'Connell (artist)|Brendan O'Connell]].</ref>
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|date=February 10, 2014 |title=Man and machine : playing games on the internet |department=Popular Chronicles |journal=The New Yorker |volume=89 |issue=48 |pages=33–39 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/02/10/man-and-machine-2 <!--access-date=2018-04-08-->}}<ref group=lower-alpha>Online version is titled "The surreal comedy of internet art".</ref>
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|date=October 5, 2018 |title=Growing Up in the Library |department=Personal History |journal=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/personal-history/growing-up-in-the-library <!--access-date=2018-12-11-->}}
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|title=TheRealReal's Online Luxury Consignment Shop |journal=The New Yorker |date=October 29, 2019 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/21/therealreals-online-luxury-consignment-shop |language=en-us}}
* {{cite journal <!--|author=Orlean, Susan |author-mask=1 -->|date=June 29, 2020 |title=The Rabbit Outbreak |journal=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/07/06/the-rabbit-outbreak |language=en-us}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Susan Orlean}}
*[http://www.susanorlean.com/ Susan Orlean Official Website]
*[http://www.identitytheory.com/people/birnbaum6.html IdentityTheory.com interview]
*[https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/susan-orlean New Yorker contributor page for Susan Orlean]
*[https://findingaids.library.columbia.edu/ead/nnc-rb/ldpd_11614020 Finding aid to Susan Orlean papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.]
*[http://byliner.com/writers/susan-orlean/ Susan Orlean articles at Byliner]
*[http://www.litshow.com/archive/season-04/susanorlean Susan Orlean discusses Rin Tin Tin on ''The Lit Show'']
*[https://archive.org/details/LehighCarbonCommunityCollegesReadFirstAskLater Radio Interview with Susan Orlean on ''Read First, Ask Later'' (Ep. 20)]
*[http://brendanomeara.com/episode-61-susan-orlean-on-writing-for-an-audience-and-the-entrepreneurial-nature-of-a-writing-career/ Orlean interviewed on ''Creative Nonfiction Podcast''  discussing the entrepreneurial nature of a writing career]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlean, Susan}}
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women journalists]]
[[Category:21st-century American journalists]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:American women television writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American journalists]]
[[Category:Jewish American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American television writers]]
[[Category:American television writers]]
[[Category:Jewish women writers]]
[[Category:Journalists from Ohio]]
[[Category:The New Yorker people]]
[[Category:The New Yorker staff writers]]
[[Category:Nieman Fellows]]
[[Category:Shorty Award winners]]
[[Category:University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Cleveland]]
[[Category:Writers from Shaker Heights, Ohio]]