Alison Bass

I am an award-winning journalist and the author of Rebecca of Ivanhoe, a sequel to Sir Walter Scott's classic tale. It tells the story of Rebecca after the beautiful Jewish healer is saved by the knight Ivanhoe from being burned alive as a witch. She and her father flee to Spain, where she becomes a renowned healer and befriends the Jewish mistress to King Alfonso VIII (Rachel of Esa was a real historical figure). But Rebecca and her family are soon caught up in dangerous times as the Christians and Moors battle for control of Iberia. I am also the author of three nonfiction books: Brassy Broad: How one Journalist helped pave the way to #MeToo (2021); Getting Screwed: Sex Workers and the Law (2015) and Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial. (2008). Side Effects received the prestigious National Association of Science Writers’ Science in Society Award and the film rights to Side Effects have been optioned. I recently retired as Associate Professor of Journalism at West Virginia University. I was a long-time staff writer for The Boston Globe and a series I wrote for The Globe was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in the Public Service category. My articles and essays have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, the Forward, Buzzfeed, The Village Voice, Psychology Today, and numerous other media.