Terra Ziporyn (born 1958) is an American science writer, novelist, playwright, and public health advocate whose books include
The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health', ''Alternative Medicine for Dummies'', and
Nameless Diseases'. She has written extensively on a wide range of health and medical issues for both medical professionals and the general public in publications including ''
The Harvard Health Letter'',
''
JAMA
''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...
'',
''
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy.
Founded ...
'',
''
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
'',
''
Education Week
''Education Week'' is a news organization that has covered K–12, K–12 education since 1981. It is owned by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a nonprofit organization, and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
The newspaper publishes ...
'',
''
Weight Watchers Magazine'',
''
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'',
''
The Missouri Review
''The Missouri Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1978 by the University of Missouri. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction quarterly. With its open submission policy, ''The Missouri Review'' receives 12,000 manuscrip ...
'',
and
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
.
As Terra Ziporyn Snider, her married name, she co-founded and became executive director of
Start School Later, a public-health non-profit organization. She lives in
Severna Park,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
with her husband J.H. Snider. She is the sister of Brook Ziporyn and
Evan Ziporyn
Evan Ziporyn (b. Chicago, Illinois, December 14, 1959) is an American composer of post-minimalist music with a cross-cultural orientation, drawing equally from classical music, avant-garde, various world music traditions, and jazz. Ziporyn h ...
.
Education and career
Ziporyn graduated from
Evanston Township High School
Evanston Township High School (ETHS) (District 202) is a public high school in Evanston, Illinois. The campus is located in a northern suburb of Chicago along the Lake Michigan shore. ETHS was established in 1883 and serves the city of Evanston a ...
in 1976. She received a BA in both history and biology (''
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'',
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
) from
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, where she was the arts editor of the
Yale Daily News
The ''Yale Daily News'' is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut, since January 28, 1878.
Description
Financially and editorially independent of Yale University since its founding, th ...
. She earned an MA and PhD in the history of science and medicine as a Searle Fellow at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...
, where she conducted research in biopsychology in the laboratory of
Martha McClintock
Martha Kent McClintock (born February 22, 1947) is an American psychologist best known for her research on human pheromones and her theory of menstrual synchrony.
Her research focuses on the relationship that the environment and biology have up ...
. Ziporyn's dissertation, supervised by Lester S. King and published as ''Disease in the Popular American Press'', focused on relationship between science and society. Ziporyn studied fiction and screenwriting at the
Bread Loaf Writers Conference
The Middlebury Bread Loaf Writers' Conference is an author's conference held every summer at the Bread Loaf Inn, near Bread Loaf Mountain, east of Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1926, it has been called by ''The New Yorker'' "the oldest and most ...
, Old Chatham Writers Conference, and
Columbia College, and playwriting with
Ted Tally
Ted Tally (born April 9, 1952) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He adapted the Thomas Harris novel '' The Silence of the Lambs'' into the film of the same name, for which he received the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, the ...
at
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
and
Theatre Building Chicago's New Tuners Workshop.
In 1984 Ziporyn became an associate editor of the ''
Journal of the American Medical Association
''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of ...
'' (''
JAMA
''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...
'') and in 1985 began freelancing for publications including ''
The Harvard Health Letter'',
''
JAMA
''JAMA'' (''The Journal of the American Medical Association'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of b ...
'',
''
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy.
Founded ...
'',
''
CNN
Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
'',
''
Education Week
''Education Week'' is a news organization that has covered K–12, K–12 education since 1981. It is owned by Editorial Projects in Education (EPE), a nonprofit organization, and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
The newspaper publishes ...
'',
''
Weight Watchers Magazine'',
''
Business Week
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'' (and before that ''Business Week'' and ''The Business Week''), is an American monthly business magazine published 12 times a year. The magazine debuted in New York City in Septembe ...
'',
''
The Missouri Review
''The Missouri Review'' is a literary magazine founded in 1978 by the University of Missouri. It publishes fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction quarterly. With its open submission policy, ''The Missouri Review'' receives 12,000 manuscrip ...
'',
and
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
.
She was awarded a
AAASbr>
Mass Media Science Fellowshipin 1979. She later received science writing fellowships from the
American Chemical Society
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a scientific society based in the United States that supports scientific inquiry in the field of chemistry. Founded in 1876 at New York University, the ACS currently has more than 155,000 members at all ...
(1992) and the
Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole
The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...
(1997).
In 2011 Ziporyn co-founded and became executive director of
Start School Later, a
501(c)(3) organization
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...
comprising health professionals, sleep scientists, educators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens dedicated to raising awareness about adolescent sleep and helping communities ensure safe, healthy, and equitable school hours where students have an opportunity to get healthy sleep. Her writing about translating sleep research into school policy has been published in
Sleep Science' (
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
)
Sleep, Health, and Society(Oxford University Press),'' and
Sleep Health',
the peer-reviewed journal of the
National Sleep Foundation
The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) is an United States of America, American non-profit, charitable organization. Founded in 1990, its stated goal is to provide expert information on health-related issues concerning sleep. It is largely funded by ...
. She received th
2022 Public Service Awardfrom the
Sleep Research Society
The Sleep Research Society (SRS) is an organization that promotes the science of sleep and related disorders. Additionally, the SRS is dedicated to the training and education of future sleep researchers
Organization
The organization traces it ...
.
Selected works
Non-fiction books
*
The New Harvard Guide to Women's Health' (co-authored with Karen Carlson and Stephanie Eisenstat).
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou.
The pres ...
, 2004. Health Information Resource Center's 1998 National Health Information Award in the book category of health promotion/disease and injury prevention information. Translated into Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Italian, Chinese, and Polish language editions.
* ''Alternative Medicine for Dummies'' (co-authored with James Dillard).
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., commonly known as Wiley (), is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Publishing, publishing company that focuses on academic publishing and instructional materials. The company was founded in 1807 and pr ...
,1998. Received the
American Medical Writers Association
The American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) is a professional association for medical communicators, with more than 4,000 members in the United States, Canada, and 30 other countries. AMWA is governed by a board of directors composed of the ele ...
Beth Fonda Award for excellence in medical communication for a lay audience.
* ''Alternative Medicine for Dummies''.
Harper Audio
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the " Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is ...
, 1998.
*
The Harvard Guide to Women's Health' (co-authored with Karen Carlson and Stephanie Eisenstat). Harvard University Press and Pilgrim New Media, 1997.
*
The Women's Concise Guide to Emotional Well-Being' (co-authored with Karen Carlson and Stephanie Eisenstat). Harvard University Press, 1997.
*
The Women's Concise Guide to a Healthier Heart' (co-authored with Karen Carlson and Stephanie Eisenstat). Harvard University Press, 1997.
*
' Cambridge (co-authored with Karen Carlson and Stephanie Eisenstat), 1996. CD version, 1997 via Pilgrim New Media.
*
Nameless Diseases'.
Rutgers University Press
Rutgers University Press (RUP) is a nonprofit academic publishing house, operating in New Brunswick, New Jersey under the auspices of Rutgers University
Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Pub ...
, 1992.
* ''Future Shop: How New Technologies Will Change The Way We Shop and What We Buy.
(''co-authored with Jim Snider)''.''
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...
, 1992
* ''Disease in The Popular American Press: The Case of Diphtheria, Typhoid Fever, and Syphilis, 1870-1920''
Greenwood Press
Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. (GPG) was an educational and academic publisher (middle school through university level) which was part of ABC-Clio. Since 2021, ABC-Clio and its suite of imprints, including GPG, are collectively imprints of B ...
, 1988.
Fiction and plays
* ''Permanent Makeup''. Palta Books, 2014.
* ''Do Not Go Gentle''. iUniverse, 2006.
* ''The Bliss of Solitude''. Xlibris, 2002.
* ·''Time's Fool''. Xlibris, 2001
1st Prize for Historical FictionMaryland Writers Association
* ·
Cupidity'. Premiered at Yale University, April 2016.
* ''The List''. Read a
Baltimore Playwrights Festival(Mobtown Playhouse), 2004.
* ''To Be An Eagle! (Terra Ziporyn, book; Jim Hughes, lyrics; Lita Grier, music).''
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ziporyn, Terra
1958 births
Living people
American medical writers
American women science writers
American women medical writers
Yale College alumni
University of Chicago alumni
Writers from Evanston, Illinois
21st-century American novelists
American women novelists