Sarah Vowell is the New York Times bestselling author of seven nonfiction books on American history and culture. By examining the connections between the American past and present, she offers personal, often humorous accounts of everything from presidents and their assassins to colonial religious fanatics, as well as thoughts on utopian dreamers, pop music, and the odd cranky cartographer. Her most recent book is titled Lafayette in the Somewhat United States.

Vowell was a contributing editor for the public radio show This American Life from 1996–2008, where she produced numerous commentaries and documentaries and toured the country in many of the program’s live shows. She was one of the original contributors to McSweeney’s, also participating in many of the quarterly’s readings and shows. She has been a columnist for Salon.com, Time, and San Francisco Weekly, and is a contributing op-ed writer for the New York Times. She is an active advisory board member of 826NYC, a nonprofit tutoring and writing center for students aged 6-18 in Brooklyn, along with its sister organization in Los Angeles, 826LA.

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