Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is a journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of ''
The Orchid Thief
''The Orchid Thief'' is a 1998 non-fiction book by American journalist Susan Orlean, based on her investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids in the Fakahat ...
'' and ''
The Library Book''. She has been a staff writer 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 ...
'' since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including ''
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', ''
Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title.
In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...
'', and ''
Outside
Outside or Outsides may refer to:
General
* Wilderness
* Outside (Alaska), any non-Alaska location, as referred to by Alaskans
Books and magazines
* ''Outside'', a book by Marguerite Duras
* ''Outside'' (magazine), an outdoors magazine Film, th ...
''. In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
comedy series ''
How To with John Wilson
''How To with John Wilson'' is an American television comedy docuseries created by filmmaker John Wilson. The series, executive produced by Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman and Clark Reinking, was ordered by HBO. It premiered on October 23, 2020. ...
''.
She is best known as the author of the 1998 book ''The Orchid Thief'', which was adapted into the film ''
Adaptation
In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
'' (2002).
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
received an
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for her performance as Orlean.
Early life
Orlean was raised in
Shaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...
, the daughter of Edith (née Gross 1923–2016) and Arthur Orlean (1915–2007). She has a sister and a brother. Her family is
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. Her mother's family is from
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and her father's family from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
. Her father was an attorney and businessman.
Orlean graduated from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
with honors in 1976,
studying literature and history. After college she moved to
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
, and was planning on going to law school, when she began writing for the ''
Willamette Week
''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture.
History
Early history
''Willame ...
''.
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
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' Sunday Magazine.
Her first book, ''Saturday Night'', was published in 1990, shortly after she moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
from
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and began writing for ''The New Yorker'' magazine. She started contributing to ''The New Yorker'' in 1987 and became a staff writer in 1992.
Orlean authored the book ''
The Orchid Thief
''The Orchid Thief'' is a 1998 non-fiction book by American journalist Susan Orlean, based on her investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids in the Fakahat ...
'', a profile of Florida
orchid
Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant.
Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowering ...
grower, breeder and collector
John Laroche
''The Orchid Thief'' is a 1998 non-fiction book by American journalist Susan Orlean, based on her investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids in the Fakahat ...
. The book formed the basis of
Charlie Kaufman
Charles Stuart Kaufman (; born November 19, 1958) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He wrote the films ''Being John Malkovich'' (1999), ''Adaptation'' (2002), and ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). He made his directorial de ...
's script for the
Spike Jonze
Adam H. Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze, is an American filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes commercials, film, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze began his ca ...
film ''
Adaptation.
''Adaptation'' is a 2002 American meta comedy-drama film directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman. It features an ensemble cast including Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, and Chris Cooper, with Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, ...
''
Orlean (portrayed by
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...
,
who won a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...
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.
She also wrote the ''Women's Outside'' article "Life's Swell", published in 1998. That article, a feature on a group of young
surfer girls in
Maui
The island of Maui (; Hawaiian: ) is the second-largest of the islands of the state of Hawaii at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is the largest of Maui County's four islands, which ...
, was the basis of the film ''
Blue Crush
''Blue Crush'' is a 2002 sports film directed by John Stockwell and based on Susan Orlean's 1998 ''Outside'' magazine article "Life's Swell". It stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem. The film tells the story of t ...
''.
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: 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
Rin Tin Tin or Rin-Tin-Tin (September 1918 – August 10, 1932) was a male German Shepherd born in Flirey, France, who became an international star in motion pictures. He was rescued from a World War I battlefield by an American soldier, L ...
titled ''Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend''.
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
The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...
system which reignited her own childhood passion for libraries. 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. 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.
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".
She collaborated on the adaption for television.
In 2021, Orlean joined the writing staff of television series ''
How To with John Wilson
''How To with John Wilson'' is an American television comedy docuseries created by filmmaker John Wilson. The series, executive produced by Nathan Fielder, Michael Koman and Clark Reinking, was ordered by HBO. It premiered on October 23, 2020. ...
'' for the show's second season on
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
.
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.
She is also step-mother to John's son from his previous marriage.
Awards and honors
Orlean was a
Nieman Fellow
The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University awards multiple types of fellowships.
Nieman Fellowships for journalists
A Nieman Fellowship is an award given to journalists by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. ...
at Harvard University in 2004.
She received an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
at the spring commencement ceremony in 2012.
She was awarded a
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
in 2014 in the "General Nonfiction" field of study. Orlean was the winner of the 7th Annual
Shorty Awards
The Shorty Awards (also known as “The Shortys”) honors the most innovative work globally in digital and social media by brands, agencies, nonprofits and creators. The Shortys’ mission is to celebrate, inspire and push the boundaries of exce ...
in the Author category, which honors the best social and digital media.
Bibliography
Books
*
* ''
The Orchid Thief
''The Orchid Thief'' is a 1998 non-fiction book by American journalist Susan Orlean, based on her investigation of the 1994 arrest of horticulturist John Laroche and a group of Seminoles in south Florida for poaching rare orchids in the Fakahat ...
'' (1998)
* ''
The Bullfighter Checks Her Makeup: My Encounters with Extraordinary People'' (2001)
* ''My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere'', (2004) (Random House Trade Paperbacks).
* ''Animalish'' (Kindle Single) (2011)
* ''
Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend'' (2011)
* ''The Floral Ghost'' (2016)
* ''
The Library Book'' (2018) (Simon and Schuster).
*
Essays and reporting
*
*
[Online version is titled "The Homesick Restaurant Run by Cuban Refugees". Originally published in the January 15, 1996 issue.]
*
*
*
[ Brendan O'Connell.]
*
[Online version is titled "The surreal comedy of internet art".]
*
*
*
;Notes
References
External links
Susan Orlean Official WebsiteNew Yorker contributor page for Susan OrleanFinding aid to Susan Orlean papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.Susan Orlean articles at BylinerSusan Orlean discusses Rin Tin Tin on The Lit Show* ''
Radio Interview with Susan Orlean on "Read First, Ask Later" (Ep. 20)
/span>''
Orlean joined Brendan O'Meara o
The Creative Nonfiction Podcast for Episode 61
to talk about the entrepreneurial nature of a writing career.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlean, Susan
1955 births
Living people
American women writers
American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
American people of Polish-Jewish descent
Jewish American writers
Nieman Fellows
The New Yorker staff writers
Writers from Cleveland
The New Yorker people
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
Writers from Shaker Heights, Ohio
American women journalists
Journalists from Ohio
Shorty Award winners
21st-century American Jews
21st-century American women