Lawrence Wright (born August 2, 1947) is an American writer and journalist, who is a staff

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine, and fellow at the Center for Law and Security at the

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...

. Wright is best known as the author of the 2006 nonfiction book '' Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11''. Wright is also known for his work with documentarian Alex Gibney who directed film versions of Wright's one man show ''My Trip to Al-Qaeda'' and his book '' Going Clear''. His 2020 novel, ''The End of October'', a thriller about a pandemic, was released in April 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, to generally positive reviews.

Background and education

Wright graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, in 1965 and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2009. He is a graduate of

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into a comprehensive pub ...

and taught English at the American University in Cairo (from which he was awarded a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

Applied Linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field which identifies, investigates, and offers solutions to language-related real-life problems. Some of the academic fields related to applied linguistics are education, psychology, communication rese ...

in 1969) in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

for two years. Wright lives in Austin, Texas.

Career

In 1980, Wright began working for the magazine ''

Texas Monthly ''Texas Monthly'' (stylized as ''TexasMonthly'') is a monthly American magazine headquartered in Downtown Austin, Texas. ''Texas Monthly'' was founded in 1973 by Michael R. Levy and has been published by Emmis Publishing, L.P. since 1998 and is ...

'' and contributed to ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine. In late 1992, he joined the staff of ''The New Yorker''.

''The Looming Tower''

Wright is the author of six books but is best known for his 2006 publication, ''The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11''. A quick bestseller, ''The Looming Tower'' was awarded the

J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize The J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize is an annual award in the amount of $10,000 given to a book that exemplifies, "literary grace, a commitment to serious research and social concern.” The prize is given by the Nieman Foundation and by the Columbia ...

, the 2007

Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction The Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are awarded annually for the "Letters, Drama, and Music" category. The award is given to a nonfiction book written by an American author and published duri ...

, and is frequently referred to by some

media pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

s as being an excellent source of background information on Al Qaeda and the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

. The book's title is a phrase from the : "Wherever you are, death will find you, even in the looming tower", which Osama bin Laden quoted three times in a videotaped speech seen as directed to the 9/11 hijackers.

''Going Clear''

In 2011, Wright wrote a profile of former

Scientologist Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a business, or a new religious movement. The most recent published census data in ...

Paul Haggis Paul Edward Haggis (born March 10, 1953) is a Canadian screenwriter, film producer, and director of film and television. He is best known as screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners ''Million Dollar Baby'' (2004) and ...

for ''

''. Starting with Haggis and eventually speaking with 200 current and former Scientologists, Wright's book, ''Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief'', was published in 2013. The book contains interviews from current and former Scientologists, and examines the history and leadership of the organisation. In an interview for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', Wright disclosed that he had received "innumerable" letters threatening legal action from lawyers representing the Church of Scientology and celebrities who were members of it. ''

'' published

Michael Kinsley Michael E. Kinsley (born March 9, 1951) is an American political journalist and commentator. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on ''Crossfire''. Early life and e ...

's review of the book, where he wrote: "That crunching sound you hear is Lawrence Wright bending over backward to be fair to Scientology. Every deceptive comparison with Mormonism and other religions is given a respectful hearing. Every ludicrous bit of church dogma is served up deadpan. This makes the book's indictment that much more powerful." In 2015, Alex Gibney produced a documentary based on Wright's book, titled '' Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief''. The film was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, winning three, and received a 2015 Peabody Award "for its detailed documentation of Scientology's history and abuses."

Other projects

Among Wright's other books are ''Remembering Satan: A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory'' (1994), about the Paul Ingram

false memory In psychology, a false memory is a phenomenon where someone recalls something that did not happen or recalls it differently from the way it actually happened. Suggestibility, activation of associated information, the incorporation of misinformat ...

case. On June 7, 1996, Wright testified at Ingram's pardon hearing. Wright co-wrote the screenplay for the film ''

The Siege ''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a fictional situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony Sh ...

'' (1998), which tells the story of a

terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

attack in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

that leads to curtailed civil liberties and rounding up of

Arab-Americans Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American Ins ...

. A script that Wright originally wrote for Oliver Stone was turned instead into a well-regarded Showtime movie, '' Noriega: God's Favorite'' (2000). A documentary featuring Wright, ''My Trip to Al-Qaeda'', premiered on HBO in September 2010. It was based on his journeys and experiences in the Middle East during his research for ''The Looming Tower''. ''My Trip to Al-Qaeda'' looks at al-Qaeda, Islamist extremism, anti-American sentiment and the U.S. military presence in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

and combines Wright's first-person narrative with documentary footage and photographs. Wright plays the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

in the

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, blues collective WhoDo. Wright is also a playwright. He has worked on a script over several years concerning the making of the epic film '' Cleopatra'' that starred Elizabeth Taylor,

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable pe ...

, and Rex Harrison. The play is titled ''

Cleo Cleo may refer to: Entertainment * ''Cleo'' (magazine), an Australian magazine established in 1972, now active in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand * Cleo (group), a South Korean girl group formed in 1999 * ''Cleo'' (play), by Lawren ...

'' and was to have opened September 2017 in Houston, Texas, but was delayed by catastrophic flooding caused by hurricane Harvey. It eventually opened in April 2018.

Awards and honors

*2006

Los Angeles Times Book Prize Since 1980, the ''Los Angeles Times'' has awarded a set of annual book prizes. The Prizes currently have nine categories: biography, current interest, fiction, first fiction (the Art Seidenbaum Award added in 1991), history, mystery/thriller ...