Dani Shapiro (born April 10, 1962) is an American writer, the author of six

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s including ''Family History'' (2003), ''Black & White'' (2007) and ''Signal Fires'' (2022) and the

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

''Slow Motion'' (1998), ''Devotion'' (2010), ''Hourglass'' (2017), and ''Inheritance'' (2019). She has also written for magazines such as ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', '' The Oprah Magazine'', ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** '' Vogue Adria'', a fashion magazine for former Yugoslav countries ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ' ...

'', and ''

Elle Elle may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Elle (magazine), ''Elle'' (magazine), a fashion publication ** Elle Style Awards * Elle (India), ''Elle'' (India), the Indian edition * Elle (film), ''Elle'' (film), a 2016 French film * ''Elle: ...

''. In February 2019, she created a podcast on

iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...

called ''Family Secrets''.

Early life and education

Shapiro was born Daneile Shapiro on April 10, 1962, in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She is the daughter of Paul Shapiro, from an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family (who, she later learned through a recreational DNA test, was not her biological father), and Irene Shapiro, from

South Jersey South Jersey, also known as Southern New Jersey, comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located between Pennsylvania and the lower Delaware River to its west, the Atlantic Ocean to its east, Delaware to its south, ...

. Shapiro attended a Solomon Schechter Jewish day school through 6th grade, after which she attended the

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus in ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

.Mindell, Cindy
"Q & A: Author Dani Shapiro"
''

Jewish Ledger The ''Jewish Ledger'' is Connecticut's only weekly Jewish newspaper. The Hartford newspaper also has a monthly edition serving the Greater Hartford and western Massachusetts area. History It was founded in April 1929 by Samuel Neusner (who h ...

'', January 12, 2011. Accessed February 11, 2011. She attended

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

, where she was taught by

Grace Paley Grace Paley (December 11, 1922 – August 22, 2007), Goodside, was an American short story author, poet, teacher, and political activist. Paley wrote three critically acclaimed collections of short stories, which were compiled in the Pulitzer Pr ...

Career

Writing

Shapiro's novels include ''Playing with Fire, Fugitive Blue, Picturing the Wreck, Family History, Black & White,'' and ''Signal Fires.'' Her best-selling memoirs include ''Slow Motion'', ''Devotion, Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life, Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage,'' and most recently, ''Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love''. In addition to ''The New Yorker'', ''The Oprah Magazine'', ''Vogue'', and ''Elle'', Shapiro's writing has also appeared in ''

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

'', and ''

n+1 N1, N.I, N-1, N=1, or N01 may refer to: Information technology * Nokia N1, an Android tablet * Nexus One, an Android phone made by HTC * Nylas N1, a desktop email client * Oppo N1, an Android phone * N1, a Sun Microsystems software brand now ...

'', among others.

''Signal Fires''

''Signal Fires'' was named a best book of 2022 by ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

,'' and others, and is a national bestseller. Angela Haupt writes: "On a cold night in 2010, a retired doctor sits underneath an ancient oak tree with the unusual little boy who lives across the street. The boy points out the constellations, and what they represent. The man—unlike anyone else in the boy’s life—listens. Though the boy doesn't know it, this isn't the first time their lives have intersected, and they’ll soon become linked again in a way that will endure time and distance. ''Signal Fires'', Dani Shapiro's first novel in 15 years, follows the man and his family, and the boy and his parents, across decades, lyrically examining the ways a single event can alter many lives forever.''"''

''Inheritance''

In ''Inheritance,'' Shapiro writes about her experience of learning through a recreational DNA test that her biological father was not Paul Shapiro; rather, she had been conceived by the primitive practice of mixing Paul's sperm with that of an anonymous donor, whom she later was able to identify. ''Inheritance'' debuted at number 11 on the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list and

Ruth Franklin Ruth Franklin is an American literary critic. She is a former editor at ''The New Republic'' and an Adjunct professor at New York University's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. Her first biography, ''Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life,'' ...

called it "beautifully written and deeply moving." The ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' described ''Inheritance'' as "as compulsively readable as a mystery novel, while exploring the deeper mysteries of identity and family and truth itself… a story told with great insight and honesty and heart."

Jennifer Egan Jennifer Egan (born September 7, 1962) is an American novelist and short-story writer. Her novel, ''A Visit from the Goon Squad,'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. From 2018 to 2020, she ...

wrote that "''Inheritance'' is Dani Shapiro at her best: a gripping genetic detective story, and a meditation on the meaning of parenthood and family." The memoir was included on several best-of-the-year lists, including that of '' Vanity Fair'', ''

Oprah Magazine ''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications. In 2021, Winfrey and Hearst rebranded it as ''Oprah Daily''. Overview It was first pub ...

'',

Lit Hub ''Literary Hub'' or ''LitHub'' is a daily literary website that was launched in 2015 by Grove Atlantic president and publisher Morgan Entrekin, American Society of Magazine Editors Hall of Fame editor Terry McDonell, and ''Electric Literature'' ...

and ''

Wired Wired may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Wired'' (Jeff Beck album), 1976 * ''Wired'' (Hugh Cornwell album), 1993 * ''Wired'' (Mallory Knox album), 2017 * "Wired", a song by Prism from their album '' Beat Street'' * "Wired ...

''. As of 2019, ''Inheritance'' was being adapted for film by Shapiro's husband, journalist and screenwriter

Michael Maren Michael Maren (born November 15, 1955) is an American journalist, screenwriter, and director. He spent seventeen years as a foreign correspondent based in Africa, writing for magazines like ''The Village Voice'', ''Newsweek'', ''The New Republ ...

, in development with

Killer Films Killer Films is a New York City-based independent film production company founded in 1995 by film producers Christine Vachon and Pamela Koffler. The company has produced many acclaimed independent films over the past two decades including ''Fa ...

Screenwriting

In 1999, Shapiro adapted

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

's '' The Happy Prince'' for an episode of the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...

animated anthology series '' Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child''. In 2000, she co-wrote a screenplay based on her memoir, ''Slow Motion'', with

. As of 2021, Shapiro was adapting

Sue Miller Sue Miller (born November 29, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer who has written a number of best-selling novels. She graduated from Radcliffe College. Biography Born in Chicago, Miller was preoccupied with her duties as a sin ...

's novel ''Monogamy'' for film for

and Yellow Bear Films.

Teaching

Shapiro has taught writing classes and workshops at

NYU New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a non-denominational all-male institutio ...

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...

and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

as well

Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a nonprofit organization that operates a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its facility is a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary built in 1957. History Founder Amrit Desai ...

1440 Multiversity
and

Fine Arts Work Center The Fine Arts Work Center is a non-profit enterprise that supports emerging visual artists and writers in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The Work Center was founded in 1968 by a group of American artists and writers to support promising individual ...

. She also co-founded the Sirenland Writers Conference, which takes place annually in

Positano Positano ( ; in Neapolitan language, Neapolitan: () is a village and ''comune'' on the Amalfi Coast (Province of Salerno), in Campania, Italy, mainly in an enclave in the hills leading down to the coast. History The first evidence of a settle ...

, Italy.

Podcasting

In collaboration with iHeartRadio, Shapiro launched the original podcast ''Family Secrets'' in 2019. Each episode of this

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

Top 10 podcast features a conversation between Dani and a guest who's experienced a family secret and its effects. The podcast's seventh season premiered on September 1, 2022 the podcast has more than 30 million downloads. In addition to ''Family Secrets'', Shapiro created and hosted another podcast with iHeartRadio, ''The Way We Live Now'', which launched in April 2020 and concluded in July 2020. The podcast examined the way people from different walks of life have coped during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

Personal life

Shapiro has been married screenwriter

since 1997, and they have a son, Jacob. In the early 2000s, Shapiro and her family moved from

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, NY to

Litchfield County, Connecticut Litchfield County is a County (United States), county in northwestern Connecticut, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield Count ...

. Shapiro wrote that in February 2024 she was diagnosed with a rare malignant tumor in the back of her eye, which she later learned would not be fatal. The diagnosis caused her to consider destroying her personal

diaries Diaries may refer to: * the plural of diary A diary is a written or audiovisual memorable record, with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally bee ...

—as distinguished from crafted, edited

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...

Books

*''Playing with Fire'' Doubleday Publishing Group, 1990, *''Fugitive Blue'' Nan A. Talese, 1992, *''Picturing the Wreck'' Doubleday, 1995, *''Slow Motion: A True Story'' Random House, 1998 *''Family History: A Novel'' Knopf, 2004 *''Black & White'' Knopf, 2007 *''Devotion: A Memoir'' Harper, 2010 *''Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life'' Atlantic Monthly Press, 2013 *''Hourglass: Time, Memory, Marriage'' Knopf, 2017 *''Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love'' Knopf, 2019 * ''Signal Fires'', 2022,

Appearances (selected)

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

's ''

Super Soul Sunday ''Super Soul Sunday'' is a self-help talk show hosted by Oprah Winfrey, which airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network. The series premiered on October 16, 2011, and ended on December 19, 2021. Format ''Super Soul Sunday'' is designed to help viewers a ...

'', on the

Oprah Winfrey Network The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...

, to discuss ''Devotion'' on October 20, 2013 *

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

to discuss ''Inheritance'' on January 15, 2019 *

CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...

to discuss ''Inheritance'' on April 6, 2019 *

PBS News Hour ''PBS News Hour'', previously stylized as ''PBS NewsHour'', is the news division of PBS and an American daily evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations since October 20, 1975. It airs seven nights a week, and ...

to discuss ''Inheritance'' on March 31, 2020

Awards

* 2019:

National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...

winner in the Autobiography and Memoir category for ''Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love'' *2019: ''Inheritance'' named a finalist for the

Goodreads Choice Award The Goodreads Choice Awards is a yearly award program, first launched on Goodreads in 2009. Winners are determined by users voting on books that Goodreads has nominated or books of their choosing, released in the given year. Most books that Good ...

in the Memoir category *2020: ''Inheritance'' named a finalist for the

Wingate Prize The Jewish Quarterly-Wingate Literary Prize is an annual British literary prize inaugurated in 1977. It is named after the host ''Jewish Quarterly'' and the prize's founder Harold Hyam Wingate. The award recognises Jewish and non-Jewish writers r ...

for a non-fiction book "to translate the idea of Jewishness to the general reader." * 2023: National Jewish Book Award winner in the JJ Greenberg Memorial Award for Fiction category for ''Signal Fires''

References

External links

Official WebsiteInternet Movie Database BioLitchfield County Writers ProjectSirenland Writers ConferenceSuper Soul Sunday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shapiro, Dani 1962 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers American women academics American women memoirists American women novelists American women screenwriters Jewish American academics Jewish American memoirists Jewish American novelists Jewish American screenwriters Jewish women writers Memoirists from New York (state) Novelists from Connecticut Novelists from New York (state) Pingry School alumni Screenwriters from Connecticut Screenwriters from New York (state) Wesleyan University faculty Writers from New York City