NYS Writers Institute, Thursday, September 10, 2015
4:15 p.m. Seminar | Science Library, Uptown Campus

Friday, September 11, 2015
7:00 p.m. Reading in observance of 9/11 | The New York State Museum, Huxley Theatre, Albany

CALENDAR LISTING:
Tom Junod, journalist, UAlbany graduate, winner of two National Magazine Awards, and the record holder for nominations for that award (11 times), will present a seminar on magazine writing on Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 4:15 p.m. in the Standish Room, Science Library, on the UAlbany uptown campus, 1400 Washington Avenue, Albany. The following day, Friday, September 11, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., in observance of 9/11 at the New York State Museum’s Huxley Theatre in downtown Albany, Junod will read from and discuss his famous article, “The Falling Man,” a 2003 meditation on AP photographer Richard Drew’s iconic image of a 9/11 victim plunging to his death. Free and open to the public, the events are cosponsored by the University at Albany, New York State Museum, and New York State Writers Institute.

PROFILE
Tom Junod, UAlbany graduate and a writer-at-large for Esquire, is the author of some of the most celebrated pieces in American magazine writing. He has been a finalist for the National Magazine Award a record 11 times, winning twice. Many of his articles are widely republished and frequently assigned in college journalism classes.

After graduating from the University at Albany in 1980 with a degree in English, Junod supported himself as a salesman. He never stopped writing, however, and when he was held up at gunpoint in his hotel room, he wrote an account of his experience that convinced him to try writing nonfiction for a living. Seven years later, he became a staff writer for Atlanta Magazine, and began a journalism career that took him to Sports Illustrated and GQ and then, in 1997, to Esquire, where he is a writer-at-large. His work is frequently featured on the front cover.

For Esquire’s 75th Anniversary in 2008, the editors of the magazine selected his 9/11 story “The Falling Man” as one of the seven top stories in Esquire’s history. Many of the stories he has written over the last two decades are still avidly read. On September 11 of each year, when Esquire posts “The Falling Man” online, the story gets hundreds of thousands of readers.

Junod is one of the foremost practitioners of the art of the “celebrity profile.” Some of his articles—which remain in wide circulation on the Internet—include profiles of Kevin Spacey, Nicole Kidman, George Clooney, Michael Stipe, Hillary Clinton, Jon Stewart, and Fred (“Mr.”) Rogers.

He received the National Magazine Award for two pieces in GQ, “The Abortionist,” about the life of an abortion provider, and “The Rapist Says He’s Sorry,” about a serial sexual offender undergoing therapy for his crimes. He also received the James Beard Award for food writing for his essay, “My Mom Couldn’t Cook,” published in Esquire, September 2010.

For additional information on Junod’s September 10th seminar on magazine writing contact the Writers Institute at 518-442-5620 or online at https://www.albany.edu/writers-inst. For information on Junod’s September 11th presentation at the NYS Museum call 518-442-3083.