Michael Capuzzo

A Boston native and graduate of Northwestern University, journalist Michael Capuzzo is author of the New York Times bestsellers CLOSE TO SHORE (the true story of Jaws) and THE MURDER ROOM (a true-crime classic featuring the "living Sherlock Holmes"). Both books were critically acclaimed, published in many languages, and nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award. CLOSE TO SHORE, optioned by director David O. Russell, was a Top Ten Book of the Year (People magazine) and "adventure classic" with "artistry reminiscent of Stephen Crane" (The New Yorker). THE MURDER ROOM, the true story of the crime-fighting club the Vidocq Society and its brilliant lead detective, was nominated for the Edgar Award, shortlisted for Great Britain's Golden Dagger Award, reviewed as a worthy heir to Raymond Chandler, and optioned by the producers of CSI. Capuzzo was a longtime staff writer for The Miami Herald and The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he was nominated four times for the Pulitzer for feature writing and national reporting. In his spare time he wrote WILD THINGS, a nationally syndicated humor column on animals that spawned his books WILD THINGS; MUTTS: AMERICA'S DOGS (with Brian Kilcommons), and the two-volume collection OUR BEST FRIENDS and CAT CAUGHT MY HEART (with his wife, Teresa Banik Capuzzo). A sportswriter starting at age fifteen, he was nominated for a National Magazine Award for his Sports Illustrated profile of Henry Aaron, and has written for Esquire, Life, Reader's Digest, and appeared often on NPR and many national media outlets. Mike and his wife Teresa founded and publish Mountain Home, a regional magazine, "Free as the Wind, in Appalachian Pennsylvania and New York that has won wide acclaim as a new form of citizen storytelling journalism and more than seventy statewide and international awards for writing, photography, and design.