Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean (born October 31, 1955) is an American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside. In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of HBO comedy series How To with John Wilson.

Orlean's 1998 non-fiction book The Orchid Thief was adapted into the film Adaptation (2002). Meryl Streep received an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Orlean.

Early life Orlean was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in nearby Shaker Heights, the daughter of Edith (née Gross 1923–2016) and Arthur Orlean (1915–2007). She has a sister and a brother. Her family is Jewish. Her mother's family is from Hungary and her father's family from Poland. Her father was an attorney and businessman.

Orlean graduated from the University of Michigan with honors in 1976, studying literature and history. After college she moved to Portland, Oregon, and was planning on going to law school, when she began writing for the Willamette Week.

Orlean authored the book The Orchid Thief, a profile of Florida orchid grower, breeder and collector John Laroche. The book formed the basis of Charlie Kaufman's script for the Spike Jonze film Adaptation. Orlean (portrayed by Meryl Streep, After an immersive project involving three years of research and two years of writing on the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Central Library, The Library Book was released in October 2018. The book uses the context of the April 1986 fire to explore the role of the public library, who uses them, and the void created if they are lost. She collaborated on the adaption for television.

In 2021, Orlean joined the writing staff of television series How To with John Wilson for the show's second season on HBO.

Personal life Orlean married lawyer Peter Sistrom (1955–2021) in 1983, and they divorced after 16 years of marriage. She was introduced by a friend to author and businessman John Gillespie, whom she married in 2001, and she gave birth to their son in 2004.

She is also step-mother to John's son from his previous marriage.

Orlean is a self-confessed "maniac about architecture." In 2017, she sold a Mid-Century Modern home in Studio City, California that was designed by architect Rudolph Schindler.

Awards and honors Orlean was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University in 2004. She received an honorary Doctor of Human Letters degree from the University of Michigan at the spring commencement ceremony in 2012. Orlean was the winner of the 7th Annual Shorty Awards in the Author category, which honors the best social and digital media.