2021 Thomas Wolfe Prize: Frank Bruni
Frank Bruni, an Op-Ed columnist for The New York Times since June 2011, joined the newspaper in 1995 and has ranged broadly across its pages. He has been both a White House correspondent and the chief restaurant critic. As a staff writer for The Times Magazine, he profiled J. J. Abrams and a health-obsessed billionaire who planned to live to 125; as the Rome bureau chief, he kept tabs on both Pope John Paul II and Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Mr. Bruni came to The Times from The Detroit Free Press, where he was, alternately, a war correspondent, the chief movie critic and a religion writer. He is the author of three New York Times best sellers: a 2015 examination of the college admissions frenzy, Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be; a 2009 memoir, Born Round, about the joys and torments of his eating life; and a 2002 chronicle of George W. Bush’s initial presidential campaign, Ambling into History. His first cookbook, A Meatloaf in Every Oven, was published in February 2017 and co-written with his Times colleague Jennifer Steinhauer.
In his columns, which appear every Sunday and Wednesday, he reflects on diverse topics, including: American politics, higher education, popular culture and gay rights.
The 2021 Thomas Wolfe Lecture was part of the Department of English and Comparative Literature celebration of 225 years of rhetoric, writing, film, and literature. Click here to learn about more 225 events.