Pamela Paul is an award-winning author and journalist who writes about social and cultural issues, demographic trends, consumer culture, psychology and health, and family. She is the children’s book editor at The New York Times Book Review, a columnist for The New York Times Sunday Styles section, and a frequent contributor to the Styles, Education Life, The New York Times Magazine and Book Review sections. Her Studied column, a critical look at recent social science research, runs bimonthly.
Her first book, The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony, was named one of the best books of 2002 by The Washington Post; her second book, Pornified, was named one of the best books of 2005 by The San Francisco Chronicle. Her latest book, Parenting, Inc., an investigation of the childrearing business and the commercialization of early childhood, was published in April 2008 by Times Books.
Consistently ahead of its time in identifying cultural phenomena and social trends, Paul’s writing is often controversial, consistently thought-provoking, and always driven by in-depth reporting. Writing of Paul’s work in The Washington Post, Judith Warner noted, “She compellingly articulates the dreams and visions of a generation.”
Paul has been a contributor to Time magazine and a columnist for Worth. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times Education Life, The Economist, Vogue, The National Post, Slate, Salon, Psychology Today, Self, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, Parents, More, Health, Women’s Health, The Brown Alumni Monthly, 02138, The New York Sun, and Marie Claire.
A graduate of Brown University, Paul began her writing career as a London- and New York-based correspondent for The Economist, where for four years she wrote a monthly column on world arts trends, and contributed film, theatre, and book reviews between 1997 and 2003. She was previously a senior editor for American Demographics magazine, where she wrote about political opinion, and social, media and demographic trends.
Paul has been a guest on Oprah, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Early Show, and Politically Incorrect, and has made regular appearances on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She also speaks frequently on National Public Radio. She has testified about her work before Congress and presented her research to Parliament, and is a frequent public speaker at universities, conferences and other venues. Paul has lived in London, Paris, and Chiang Mai, and currently lives with her family in New York City.