Michael Capuzzo

Michael Capuzzo (born May 1, 1957) is an American journalist and author best known for his New York Times-bestselling nonfiction books The Murder Room and Close to Shore[1] He was formerly a reporter with the Miami Herald and the Philadelphia Inquirer, where he received four Pulitzer Prize nominations.[2] The Murder Room,[3][4] the true story of a private dining club of famous detectives who solve cold murders, and Close to Shore,[5][6] an historic thriller and recreation of the first American shark attack in World War I-era New Jersey, both enjoyed wide acclaim from critics and authors such as Gay Talese, Mark Bowden, John Sanford, and Michael Connelly.

Capuzzo was born in Boston, Massachusetts[2] and raised in the Boston area before studied journalism at Northwestern University. He was a reporter with the Miami Herald for six years before joining the Philadelphia Inquirer where he worked from 1986 to 1994 before becoming a freelance writer. In 1997 he married Teresa Banik, a food critic for Philadelphia Magazine.[7][2] Formerly a resident of Wenonah, New Jersey, in 2004 Capuzzo and his wife relocated to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania.[7] In 2006 he and his wife founded Mountain Home, a monthly magazine serving the Twin Tiers and New York Finger Lakes regions.[8][9][10] He earned an MFA in creative nonfiction from Goucher College in 2011, during which time he completed The Murder Room and was mentored by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Thomas French.[10]

The Murder Room, published in a number of countries, was one of five finalists for The Golden Dagger Award for Non-Fiction given by the British Crime Writer's Association for the best true-crime book by any writer of any nationality published in England in 2010/2011.[11] A TV series based on the book was in development as of 2011, to be written by George Nolfi and produced by Carol Mendelsohn, of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.[8][12]

Capuzzo was interviewed several times on NPR about the book, including Fresh Air With Terry Gross, and the book was the subject of an ABC News prime-time one-hour special episode of 20/20 in September 2010. Capuzzo has appeared nationwide as a keynote speaker and at colleges talking about writing; at Rutgers University he taught Close to Shore as an honors colloquium, and the book was "The Big Read" at Coastal Carolina University.[1]