Stephen Fried is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author who teaches at Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of six acclaimed  nonfiction books, including Appetite for America: Fred Harvey and the Business of Civilizing the West—One Meal at a Time; Rush: Revolution, Madness, and Benjamin Rush, the Visionary Doctor Who Became a Founding Father; and Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia (which introduced the word “fashionista” into the English language and inspired the Emmy-winning film Gia with Angelina Jolie.) He is also co-author, with Patrick Kennedy, of A Common Struggle. A two-time winner of the National Magazine Award, Fried has written for Vanity Fair, GQ, The Washington Post Magazine, Rolling Stone, Glamour, Smithsonian, and Philadelphia magazine. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, author Diane Ayres.