Michelle Slatalla

Slatalla was born in Elmhurst, Illinois,[12] a suburb of Chicago.[13] She has three younger brothers.

She graduated from Indiana University in 1984 with a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and English,[12] and later attended Columbia University, from which she graduated in 1985 with an Master's degree in Literature.[12]

After graduating from Columbia University in 1985, Slatalla was hired as a reporter for Newsday.[5]

Throughout the following decade, she co-wrote several works of fiction primarily focused on the internet with her husband Josh Quittner, including Mother's Day: A Novel of Suspense, Flame War: A Cyberthriller, Masters of Deception (about the eponymous New York-based hackers the Masters of Deception), Shoofly Pie to Die, and Speeding the Net: The Inside Story of Netscape and How It Challenged Microsoft.

In 1998, she was hired as a humor columnist by The New York Times to cover the internet.[14] Her work largely explored the intersection of technology and her home life through a comedic lens.[5] Slatalla's column was initially called "User's Guide,"[15] and was then retitled "Online Shopper" from October 1999 through May 2007.[16] It was then briefly renamed "Cyberfamilias"[17] until October 2008, when it was retitled, "Wife/Mother/Worker/Spy."[18] Slatalla's column had a large fan base[5][10][19] as well as select critics, including gossip blog Gawker, which criticized Slatalla's humorous approach to detailing personal family interactions.[20]

Slatalla has also contributed as a columnist to TIME magazine[19][21] and Real Simple.[4]

In 2006, she wrote The Town on Beaver Creek: The Story of a Lost Kentucky Community, a humorous narrative about Martin, a century-old eastern Kentucky town that was bulldozed in 2004 for a federal flood-relief project, where her ancestors previously lived.[22]

Slatalla lives in Mill Valley,[25] with her husband Joshua Quittner. They have three children, including Ella Quittner who is also a journalist.[26] Slatalla's Mill Valley home garden is featured in Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces, including in the first chapter.[24] Slatalla's home garden was photographed for The New York Times.[27]

• Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces (2016, Artisan Books) ISBN 1-579-65652-8
• The Town on Beaver Creek: The Story of a Lost Kentucky Community (2006, Random House) ISBN 0-375-50905-4
• Speeding the Net: The Inside Story of Netscape and How It Challenged Microsoft (1998, Atlantic Monthly Press) ISBN 0-871-13709-7
• Shoofly Pie to Die by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1992 St Martins Pr) ISBN 0-312-06943-X
• Masters of Deception by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1999 Library Binding) ISBN 0-7857-8744-5
• Flame War: A Cyberthriller by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1998 Harper Perennial; Reprint edition) ISBN 0-380-72586-X
• Mother's Day: A Novel of Suspense by Joshua Quittner and Michelle Slatalla (1993 St Martins Pr; 1st ed edition) ISBN 0-312-08850-7

• Gardenista