About | Mysite

About John Glassie

I'm the author of A Man of Misconceptions, a non-fiction book published by Riverhead about a great and strange 17th-century polymath named Athanasius Kircher. A New York Times Book Review "Editors' Choice," it was called one of the best books of 2012 by Atlantic Wire and Scientific American. I'm working on another book.

My written work has been published by The Believer, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The Washington Post, Wired, and other venues. In addition to writing articles about books, the arts, and ideas, I've interviewed dozens of public figures, from Anita Hill to Gene Simmons to Jhumpa Lahiri.

For many years I was a contributing editor for The New York Times Magazine, where among other things I published first-person stories from around the world and worked with some of the finest literary novelists, journalists, and memoirists in the United States and abroad. These include authors such as Diane Ackerman, Daniel Alarcón, Nadeem Aslam, Sarah M. Broom, Ben Fountain, Sheila Heti, Gabe Hudson, Samantha Hunt, Randa Jarrar, Mat Johnson, Bret Anthony Johnston, Etgar Keret, Eka Kurniawan, Rachel Kushner, Laila Lalami, Yiyun Li, Dale Maharidge, Sarah Manguso, Dina Nayeri, ZZ Packer, Karen Russell, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Robert Stone, Wells Tower, Abraham Verghese, Vendela Vida, Bryan Washington, Kevin Wilson, and John Wray.

I have taught writing at Pratt Institute and have given talks or participated on panels at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Columbia University, Loyola University in New Orleans, The New School, The CUNY Graduate Center, and The University of Iowa. I've also worked as an independent editor with a number of authors on their manuscripts and book proposals.

In 2005, my street photographs became the basis of a book, Bicycles Locked to Poles, published by McSweeney's, and the subject of an exhibition at Jen Bekman Gallery in New York. At certain odd times I've also exhibited paintings, constructions, and video. My writing and photos have been included in several anthologies, including The Public Domain Review: Selected Essays, 2011-2013 (PDR Press, 2014), New York: A Photographer's City (Rizzoli, 2011), Art of McSweeney's (Chronicle Books, 2010), and Ancient Gonzo Wisdom: Interviews with Hunter S. Thompson (DeCapo press, 2009).

Earlier in my career I was director of corporate communications and an executive speechwriter at NBC. Prior to that, I was speechwriter for the chairman of New York Life Insurance Company and a staff writer for a Washington, D.C., communications firm specializing in cultural affairs. Over the years, I have worked as an independent consultant, providing editorial services to a range of media companies and cultural organizations.

In one of my other incarnations, I was assistant director of a Washington, D. C., art gallery; that was my first job out of college. I grew up in the D.C. area and went to The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. I've been in the New York area for many years now and live in Brooklyn.

Interviews, Talks & Other Events

Interview with Deutchlandradio Kultur

February 17, 2015

Baltimore Book Festival

With the Ivy Bookshop
in the fabulous George Peabody Library
September 29, 2013

Author discussion on C-SPAN Book TV

With Edward Ball and Eric Banks

Chicago Printers Row Lit Fest
June 8, 2013

Science on Screen: "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen"

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Brooklyn, NY

May 28, 2013

Interview with New Orleans Review