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