timothy egan

Timothy Egan comes from a family of nine, from a mother who loved books and a father with the Irish gift of finding joy in small things.  He worked on a farm, in a factory, and at a fast-food outlet while muddling through nearly seven on-and-off years of college.

He is the author of ten books. His most recent, A FEVER IN THE HEARTLAND, is a historical thriller that was an immediate New York Times bestseller. “Brisk” “Powerful” and “Gripping,” wrote the Times. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, called it “a harrowing look at forgotten chapter in American history.” It’s a book that explains the madness of our times with a look back at a hundred years ago. His last book, A PILGRIMAGE TO ETERNITY, was very personal, an adventure on an ancient pilgrimage trail through the heart of Europe, the Via Francigena — a journey, a family story, and a history of Christianity.

THE IMMORTAL IRISHMAN was a New York Times bestseller. His book on Edward Curtis, SHORT NIGHTS OF THE SHADOW CATCHER, was awarded the Carnegie Award for best nonfiction. His account of the Dust Bowl,  THE WORST HARD TIME,  won the 2006 National Book Award, considered one of the nation’s highest literary honors, and he was featured prominently in the 2012 Ken Burns film on the Dust Bowl.

A lifelong journalist, Mr. Egan worked as a national correspondent and opinion columnist for the New York Times, roaming the West.  As a Times correspondent, he shared a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 with a team of reporters for its series, “How Race is Lived in America.”

A graduate of the University of Washington, Mr. Egan also holds honorary doctorates from Whitman College, Willamette University, Lewis and Clark College, and Western Washington University. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A third-generation Westerner and father of two, Mr. Egan lives in Seattle, a city that loves writers, and honored him once by naming May 12 a day in his honor – alas, no exemption from parking tickets.