Meghan Elizabeth Daum (born February 13, 1970) is an American author, essayist, podcaster, and journalist.

Childhood and education

Daum was born in California, and grew up in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, and

Ridgewood, New Jersey Ridgewood is a Village (New Jersey), village in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Ridgewood is a suburban commuter town, bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown M ...

. She received her bachelor's degree from

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

and her Master of Fine Arts degree from

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 ...

Career

Daum spent much of her twenties 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 ...

. In 1999, she moved to

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

, and the experience became the catalyst for her 2003 novel ''The Quality of Life Report'', which follows the life and times of an ambitious young television journalist who trades New York for the fictional town of Prairie City and explores themes of social class in America as well as the contradictions of the "simplicity movement." She is also the author of two collections of essays, ''My Misspent Youth'' and ''The Unspeakable: And Other Subjects of Discussion'', which was named as a top 10 books of the year by Slate and Entertainment Weekly. It won the 2015

PEN CENTER USA PEN Center USA was a branch of PEN International, a literary and human rights organization. It was one of two PEN International Centers in the United States, the other being PEN America in New York City. On March 1, 2018, PEN Center USA unified ...

Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction. Her work has appeared in ''

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 New York Times Magazine'', ''The Atlantic'', ''Vogue'', ''GQ'', ''Harper's'' and elsewhere. Daum lives in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, and

. She has been an opinion columnist for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' since 2005. She is a member of the adjunct faculty in the writing division of the School of the Arts at Columbia University. Daum is a 2015

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated d ...

in general nonfiction and the recipient of 2016

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

fellowship in creative writing. In 2017 she served as the Bedell Distinguished Visiting Professor at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

's Nonfiction Writing Program. In 2020, Daum started a podcast for discussing complicated and controversial issues, ''The Unspeakable''.

Books

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References

External links

* 1970 births Living people 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American women journalists American women novelists Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Writers from Ridgewood, New Jersey Vassar College alumni Writers from Omaha, Nebraska 21st-century American journalists Novelists from New Jersey Journalists from New Jersey Novelists from Nebraska Journalists from Nebraska {{US-novelist-1970s-stub