Michael Capuzzo (born May 1, 1957) is an American journalist and author best known for his ''New York Times''-bestselling nonfiction books ''The Murder Room'' and '' Close to Shore'' He was formerly a reporter with the ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' and the ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', where he received four

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

nominations. ''The Murder Room,'' the true story of a private dining club of famous detectives who solve cold murders, and ''Close to Shore'', an historic thriller and recreation of the first American shark attack in World War I-era New Jersey, both enjoyed wide acclaim from critics and authors such as

Gay Talese Gaetano "Gay" Talese (; born February 7, 1932) is an American writer. As a journalist for ''The New York Times'' and ''Esquire (magazine), Esquire'' magazine during the 1960s, he helped to define contemporary literary journalism and is considere ...

Mark Bowden Mark Bowden (; born 1951) is an American journalist and writer. He is a former national correspondent and longtime contributor to ''The Atlantic''. Bowden is best known for his book ''Black Hawk Down (book), Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern W ...

, John Sanford, and

Michael Connelly Michael Joseph Connelly (born July 21, 1956) is an American author of Detective fiction, detective novels and other crime fiction, notably those featuring Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch and cr ...

Early life and education

Capuzzo was born in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts, on May 1, 1957, and raised in the

Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston, the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England, and its surrounding areas, home to 4,941,632. The most s ...

area. He attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where he studied journalism.

Career

Capuzzo began his career as a reporter with the ''

'', where he worked for six years. He then joined ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', where he worked from 1986 to 1994 before becoming a freelance writer. In 1997, he married Teresa Banik, a food critic for ''

Philadelphia Magazine ''Philadelphia'' (also called "''Philadelphia'' magazine" or referred to by the nickname "Phillymag", once called ''Greater Philadelphia'') is a regional monthly magazine published in Philadelphia by the Lipson family of Philadelphia and its com ...

''. Formerly a resident of

Wenonah, New Jersey Wenonah is a borough in Gloucester County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,283, an increase of five people (+0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 2,278, which in turn reflect ...

, Capuzzo and his wife relocated to

Wellsboro, Pennsylvania Wellsboro is a borough in and the county seat of Tioga County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough was founded by Benjamin Wistar Morris. It is located northwest of Williamsport. The population was 3,472 at the 2020 census. Early in the ...

in 2004. In 2006, he and his wife founded ''Mountain Home'', a monthly magazine serving the

Twin Tiers The Twin Tiers are the collective counties that lie on the New York–Pennsylvania border on either side of the 42nd parallel north. The region is predominantly rural and contains many small towns. Separately, the two halves of the Twin Tiers ...

and

New York Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and tra ...

regions. He earned an MFA in creative nonfiction from

Goucher College Goucher College ( ') is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1885 as a Nonsectarian, nonsecterian Women's colleges in the United States, ...

in 2011, during which time he completed ''The Murder Room'' and was mentored by

-winning journalist

Thomas French Thomas French (born January 3, 1958) is an American writer and journalist. Life French was born on January 3, 1958 to Hans and Katherine (née Darst) French in Columbus, Ohio and was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. While at Indiana University B ...

. ''The Murder Room'', published in a number of countries, was one of five finalists for the

CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction The CWA ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction also called the ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is a British literary award established in 1978 by the Crime Writers' Association, who have awarded the CWA Gold Dagger for fiction since 1955. It is sp ...

given by the British Crime Writer's Association for the best true crime book by any writer of any nationality published in England in 2010 or 2011. A TV series based on the book was in development as of 2011, to be written by

George Nolfi George Nolfi (born June 10, 1968) is an American filmmaker. He made his directorial debut in 2011 with sci-fi action, romance thriller, ''The Adjustment Bureau'' starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. Early life Nolfi was born in Boston. He grad ...

and produced by

Carol Mendelsohn Carol Mendelsohn (born 1951) is an American television producer, showrunner, and screenwriter, known for her work on the police procedural, crime drama ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Education Mendelsohn grew up in Chicago, where her fathe ...

, of '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''. Capuzzo was interviewed several times on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

about the book, including ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

'' with

Terry Gross Terry Gross (born February 14, 1951) is an American journalist who is the host and co-executive producer of '' Fresh Air'', an interview-based radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed nationally by NPR. Since joining NP ...

, and the book was the subject of an

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

primetime hour-long special of ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of visual perception, vision, but technically rates an animal's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity depends on optical and neural factors. Optical factors of the eye ...

'' in September 2010. The book was named "The Big Read" at

Coastal Carolina University Coastal Carolina University (CCU or Coastal) is a public university in Conway, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1954 as Coastal Carolina Junior College, and later joining the University of South Carolina System as USC Coastal Carolina, ...

. Capuzzo has appeared nationwide as a keynote speaker and at colleges talking about writing; at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, he taught an honors colloquium.

Works

* ''The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases'' (2010). * '' Close to Shore: A True Story of Terror in an Age of Innocence'' (2002) * ''Mutts: America's Dogs'' (with Brian Kilcommons) (2001) * ''Cat Caught My Heart : Purrfect Tales of Wisdom, Hope, and Love'' (edited with Teresa Banik Capuzzo, 1999) * ''Our Best Friends : Wagging Tales to Warm the Heart'' (edited with Teresa Banik Capuzzo, 1999) * ''Wild Things: The Wacky and Wonderful Truth about the Animal Kingdom'' (1995)

References

External links

*
''Mountain Home'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capuzzo, Michael 1957 births Living people 21st-century American journalists 21st-century American non-fiction writers Goucher College alumni Northwestern University alumni People from Tioga County, Pennsylvania People from Wenonah, New Jersey Writers from Gloucester County, New Jersey Writers from Pennsylvania