Rebecca Skloot Biography

Rebecca L. Skloot (born September 19, 1972) is a freelance science writer who specializes in science and medicine. Her first book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010), was one of the best-selling new books of 2010, staying on The New York Times Bestseller list for over 2 years, eventually reaching #1 and optioned to be made into a movie by Oprah Winfrey.

Biography

Rebecca was born in Springfield, Illinois. She is the daughter of poet, novelist, and essayist Floyd Skloot and Betsy McCarthy, a professional knitter and pattern book author. Skloot said "in the Pacific Northwest, [her] roots [are] half New York Jew and half Midwestern Protestant." She received her high school diploma from Metropolitan Learning Center in Portland, Oregon. After attending Portland Community College and becoming a Veterinary Technician, she received a BS in biological sciences from Colorado State University, and an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Pittsburgh. She is a former vice president of the National Book Critics Circle She has taught creative writing and science journalism at the University of Pittsburgh, New York University, and the University of Memphis.

Skloot has published over 200 featured stories and essays. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, O: The Oprah Magazine, Discover, and New York magazine. Skloot is also a contributing editor at Popular Science and has worked as a correspondent for NPR's Radiolab and PBS's NOVA scienceNOW.

Her first book, the #1 New York Times bestselling The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2010), is about Henrietta Lacks and the immortal cell line (known as HeLa) that came from her cancer cells in 1951. It was named a New York Times notable book, and selected as a best book of the year by more than 60 publications. It is being made into an HBO film produced by Oprah Winfrey and Alan Ball with with Rose Byrne portraying Skloot.

Her second book, exploring the science and ethics of human-animal relationships, is under contract with Crown Publishing Group.

Skloot is an atheist.

Awards and honors

• 2005 Best American Food Writing, selection, "Two Americas, Two Restaurants, One Town"
• 2005 Best Personal Essay of the Year by the American Society of Journalists and Authors, winner, "When Pets Attack"
• 2005 The Best American Essays, selection, "Putting the Gene Back in Genealogy"
• 2005 The Best American Travel Writing, selection, "Two Americas, Two Restaurants, One Town"
• 2010 American Association for the Advancement of Science, Best Young Adult Book Award, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2010 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, winner, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2010 Chicago Tribune Heartland Prize, winner, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2010 Medical Journalists' Association Open Book Awards, General Nonfiction, winner, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2010 Chicago Tribune and Chicago Public Library 21st Century Award, winner
• 2010 Audie Award for Best Nonfiction Audiobook, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2011 Ambassador Book Award, winner (Biography), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2011 National Academies of Science Communication Awards, winner in Best Book category, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
• 2011 Audie Award for Best Nonfiction Audiobook, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Memberships

• American Society of Journalists and Authors
• National Association of Science Writers
• National Book Critics Circle

Publications

Books

• The Best American Science Writing (Houghton Mifflin, 2011), co edited with Floyd Skloot
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Crown/Random House, 2010)

Select articles

• Excerpt from "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", "Oprah Magazine, February 2010
• The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Sequel "New York Times" March 23,2013
• Your Cells. Their Research. Your Permission? "New York Times" Dec 30, 2015
• Henrietta's Dance. Johns Hopkins Magazine. April 2000.
• An Obsession With Culture. Pitt Magazine. March 2001.
• Cells That Save Lives Are a Mother's Legacy. The New York Times. November 17, 2001.
• The Other Baby Experiment. The New York Times. February 22, 2003.
• Fixing Nemo. The New York Times. May 2, 2004.
• When Pets Attack. New York magazine. October 11, 2004.
• Taking the Least of You. The New York Times Magazine. April 16, 2006.
• Creature Comforts. The New York Times Magazine. December 31, 2008.
• Some called her Miss Menten by Rebecca Skloot in Pittmed (University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine magazine), October 2000.