JENNIFER FLORENCE STEIL
Award-winning author and journalist
BOOKS:
Author, The Woman Who Fell from the Sky, a memoir about my adventures as the editor of a newspaper in Yemen, published by Broadway Books/Random House in May 2010. The book is also published in Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Poland, and Turkey.
The book received accolades in The New York Times and was chosen as a Travel Book of the Year by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. Elle magazine awarded it its Readers’ Prize in August 2010. It has been reviewed in countless other periodicals and blogs.
Author, The Ambassador’s Wife, a novel, to be published by Doubleday in 2015. The book has already won an award for Best Novel in the 2013 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition.
Contributor, Not A Rose, CHARTA, Milan, New York, 2012. For this book, a hybrid work that is both book and conceptual art installation, I wrote an essay entitled “Roses After Rain.”
AWARDS:
Winner, Best Novel, 2013 William Faulkner-William Wisdom Creative Writing Competition, for The Ambassador’s Wife
First Runner-up, 2012 William Faulkner -William Wisdom
Creative Writing Competition, Novel-in-Progress category, for Chiaroscuro (now called The Ambassador’s Wife)
Residency, Writers Omi at Ledig House, Ghent, NY, April 25-May 15
Residency, Willapa Bay, Washington, July 2014
Residency, Can Serrat, Spain, November 2014
Residency, The Byrdcliffe Artist in Residence Program, Woodstock, NY June/July 2013
Residency, Arte Studio Ginestrelle, Assisi, Italy, April 2013
Residency, The Julia and David White Artists’ Colony, Costa Rica, Sept. 2005
Consultant/Speaker, A Room of Her Own Women’s Writing Retreat, August 2013, New Mexico
First Place, Specialty Reporting Portfolio, the New Jersey Press
Association's 1998 Better Newspaper Contest
First Place (staff award), Lloyd P. Burns Memorial Award for Public
Service, for the series "Heroin: A Clear and Present Danger," the New
Jersey Press Association's 1998 Better Newspaper Contest
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JOURNALISM AND OTHER EDUCATION:
MS, Journalism (specializing in print), with Honors, Columbia University Graduate School of
Journalism, May 1997
MFA, Creative Writing/Fiction, Sarah Lawrence College, May 1996
BA, Theatre, Oberlin College, May 1990
Travel Writing Seminar at Mediabistro with James Sturz, 2005
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JOURNALISM EXPERIENCE:
Recently reported freelance pieces for the World Policy Journal, The Washington Times, Die Welt, New York Post, Readers’ Digest Version, ivillage.com, Irish National Radio, France 24 (English), CBS radio, and GRN Global Reporter Network Service
Yemen Observer, Editor-in-chief, Sana’a, Yemen
September 2006-September 2007
Overhauled and edited the entire newspaper, managed staff, and wrote news, features, and editorials
The Week, Senior Editor, New York, NY
February 2001-August 2006
Wrote and edited health, science, theater, travel, opera, art, and film pages
Folio: The magazine for magazine management, Associate Editor, New York, NY
October 1999—March 2001
Wrote news and feature stories about all aspects of the magazine business, including new launches, repositioning, information technology, editorial issues and advertising
Playgirl, Associate Editor, New York, NY
March-October 1999
Wrote features, assigned and edited stories, reviewed books, CD's
and videos
Daily Record, Health/General Assignment Reporter, Parsippany, NJ
October 1998-March 1999
Covered health issues, breaking news and general features
Daily Record, Municipal Reporter, Parsippany, NJ
October 1997-1998
Covered five towns, wrote features on education, health,
development issues and politics
The Patriot Ledger, Intern/Reporter, Quincy, MA
June-October 1997
Covered two towns, wrote features on religion, health, business,
art, kids and other subjects
Good Housekeeping, Freelancer, New York, NY
August 1997-present
Wrote several stories, including a profile and a humor page
Life, Stringer, New York, NY January 1997
Reported for special issue in May, 1997
Time, Stringer, New York, NY January 1997
Reported for cover story on Ennis Cosby, January 27, 1997
The Missoula Magazine, Reporter, Missoula, MT
June-August 1994
Wrote features on local artists
Teaching Experience
Taught a journalism workshop to the students of Wellington College in Crowthorne, England in 2011
Conducted journalism training courses for the staff of the Yemen Times in Sana’a, Yemen in 2009
Conducted journalism training courses for the staff of the Yemen Observer in Sana’a, Yemen in 2006-2007
Taught test preparation for the SAT, GRE, GMAT, and LSAT with the Princeton Review from 1993 to 1997
Taught Shakespeare in Performance to high school seniors at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire in the summer of 1990
Speaking Engagements
2013 I was an invited speaker at the A Room of Her Own Women’s Writing Retreat, August 2013, New Mexico
2012 I was an invited speaker at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. I also have given talks on Yemen and my book in Amsterdam, The Hague, Dubai, and Cairo, as well as at Columbia University, Fordham University, Sarah Lawrence College, Boston University, and the Vermont Council on World Affairs.
SPECIALIZED TRAINING/SKILLS:
Editing, Traveling, Training Journalists, Yoga, Marathon Running, Acting/Theater, Grammar, Weight Lifting, Teaching, French, Spanish, Arabic, Swimming, Hiking