Ginanne Brownell

My first book "Ghetto Classics: How a Youth Orchestra Changed a Nairobi Slum"--based on a New York Times piece I wrote in 2016--was published in 2023. Kirkus Reviews called it an "an absorbing story" written by a "skillful writer" who "tells the inspirational story of young Kenyan musicians." In May 2024, the book was awarded the silver medal in the Performing Arts category of the Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY). My second book "Elusive Mommyhood: An investigative reporter's personal journey into IVF and surrogacy", is both a memoir and a journalistic deep dive into assisted reproduction across the globe: from the history of assisted reproduction to who becomes a surrogate, how children born through surrogacy feel about it, the feminist debates around it and how countries are currently re-examining their surrogacy, assisted reproduction and parentage laws (from Italy making a total ban on Italians doing surrogacy abroad to Denmark liberalizing their laws from January 2025). I have been a journalist for over 30 years and have covered arts, culture, development, travel, politics and education stories in over 45 countries and on six continents. I worked on staff for CNN and Newsweek and my work has been published in the New York Times, Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, The Times of London, Conde Nast Traveller, Los Angeles Times, National Scientific American, Foreign Policy, Washington Post and several other outlets. I have a BA from Albion College in Michigan and a MA in history from the London School of Economics.