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It was no exaggeration when The Washington Post called Orlean “a national treasure.” How can you not adore a writer who begins a story about a show dog with the line “If I were a bitch, I’d be in love with Biff Truesdale”? Her one-of-a-kind stories about people, places, and (most endearingly) animals both familiar and totally obscure have earned her a reputation as one of America’s most delightful and surprising authors. For more than thirty years, she has been a staff writer for The New Yorker, where she has produced small masterpieces on a range of subjects you never thought you’d be fascinated by: urban chicken farming, the Tonya Harding Fan Club, origami, the World Taxidermy Championships … Orlean’s insatiable curiosity has resulted in some of today’s most popular nonfiction deep dives, including The Orchid Thief (her breakout bestseller that inspired the film Adaptation, starring Meryl Streep), Rin Tin Tin (the best dog biography you’ll ever read), and The Library Book, an ode to a beloved and often undervalued institution. Her latest book is the memoir Joyride, named a best book of 2025 by NPR, Time, Kirkus Reviews, and Oprah Daily. “For anyone who’s asked—and haven’t we all—‘How does she write like that?,’” said David Sedaris, “this wise and exuberant book is the answer.”
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