Journalist offers master class on op-eds, narrative storytelling

Journalist and biographer Sam Tanenhausis a master storyteller, expert in forms of writing ranging from newspaper reporting to op-eds to biographies. On Oct. 8, he'll share his expertise with the Cornell community in a master class, "Op-Eds and Narrative Storytelling, in Lewis Auditorium in Goldwin Smith Hall from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The class is open to all Cornellians, but RSVPs are required.

Tanenhaus is this fall's Zubrow Distinguished Visiting Journalist(DVJ) in the College of Arts and Sciences.

"Sam is highly accomplished in so many different areas, and we're privileged to have him sharing his insights with Cornell faculty, students and staff," said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences. "He's been incredibly generous while on campus as DVJ with sharing his knowledge. In these highly competitive times for writers, that generosity is particularly appreciated."

Tanenhaus' new release, "Buckley: The Life and the Revolution That Changed America," published in June, was named one of the best books of the year by the New Yorker. His previous books include the bestsellers "Whittaker Chambers: A Biography," winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and shortlisted for both the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize; and "The Death of Conservatism," which grew out of a cover story in the New Republic that sparked intense debate.

Tanenhaus is the former editor-in-chief of both the New York Times Book Review and the Week in Review, a former assistant editor on the paper's opinion page, and was a Times writer at large. He has also been a contributing editor and writer at Vanity Fair, and the U.S. writer at large for the British monthly Prospect. He is currently a contributing writer to The Washington Post.

His feature articles and essays have appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books, New York Times Magazine, Atlantic, Esquire, Newsweek, Time, Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and many other publications.

Linda B. Glaser is news and media relations manager for the College of Arts and Sciences.