Alan Paul (author)

Alan Robert Paul (born September 7, 1966) is an American journalist, author, musician, and blogger.

Biography

Paul was born in Anchorage, Alaska. He attended the University of Michigan and worked at the '' Hudson Reporter'' in Hoboken, NJ for one year after graduating in 1988. In 1991, he became Managing Editor of ''Guitar World'' and stayed in that job for five years. Paul also took on the duties of senior writer and Online Editor, while writing articles for diverse publications such as '' SLAM Magazine'', '' The New Yorker'', '' People'', and '' Entertainment Weekly''.

He and his wife, Rebecca Blumenstein, moved from New Jersey to China when she was appointed bureau chief for ''The Wall Street Journal''. There he formed the blues quintet Woodie Alan, which he named in honor of the late Allen Woody, as well as making a pop-culture nod to American film autuer Woody Allen. The guitarist was Woodie Wu; the remaining members were made up of two Chinese and one American musician. In May 2008, Woodie Alan was named 'Beijing Band of the Year' in '' City Weekend Magazine's'' readers poll. The group began recording sessions for an album that would eventually be released in May 2009 as ''Beijing Blues''.

Paul was named 'Online Columnist of the Year' by The National Society of Newspaper Columnists in honor of his WSJ.com ''The Expat Life'' column. One month later, he began covering the Beijing Olympic Games for NBC.com, as the ''"Beijing Blogger"'', as well as for the ''WSJ''. He wrote hundreds of posts, covering the Games and events, and how the Olympics were being viewed in Beijing.

In September 2008, Woodie Alan toured outside of Beijing, appearing at the Xiamen Beach Festival. Their performance was recorded and later broadcast on television throughout Fujian Province. They then traveled to Changsha, where they appeared live on three radio shows as well as performed live.

Publications

''Big in China: My Unlikely Adventures Raising a Family, Playing the Blues and Becoming a Star in Beijing'', Paul's memoir of his time in China was published by Harper in March, 2011. Ivan Reitman's Montecito Pictures optioned the book for a movie, with Reitman attached as director and producer.

In February, 2014, Paul released ''One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band'' (St. Martin's). The product of 25 years of reporting on the band, the book was hailed as a "thorough account" by '' Rolling Stone'' and "definitive" by ''Guitar World''. In October 2014, the Allman Brothers played what they called their final shows- six nights at New York's Beacon Theater. Paul covered the shows extensively, filing reports for ''Billboard'', '' The Wall Street Journal'' and ''Guitar World''. The paperback edition of ''One Way Out'' was released in February 2015, and included a new final chapter on the band's final year.

Paul and Guitar World writer Andy Aledort wrote ''Texas Flood: The Inside History of Stevie Ray Vaughan''. The book was reviewed by author Alan Light in the December 8, 2019 ''New York Times Book Review''. The review called the book "illuminating," noting that, "An oral history is only as good as its sources, and 'Texas Flood' is thorough and far-reaching, with Vaughan's bandmates, crew and family taking center stage."

References

External links

All of Alan Paul's ''The Expat Life'' blogs Alan Paul official websiteWoodie Alan official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Alan
1966 births
Living people
American male journalists
American bloggers
Musicians from Anchorage, Alaska
Writers from Anchorage, Alaska
Writers from Pittsburgh
University of Michigan alumni
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American male bloggers
The Michigan Daily alumni