I grew up outside Boston before heading to Vermont for college, then West for skiing, graduate school, employment, and marriage. I have spent almost three of my 33 years living in Japan, first doing communications work in the late 90’s, then again in 2003 as a Fulbright journalism fellow, during which time I wrote about topics as varied as Russo-Japanese relations, bears, and snow science. At various times I have also lived in: Apia, Western Samoa; Co. Kildare, Ireland; Jackson, Wyoming; Stanford, San Francisco, and Berkeley, California; and Denver, Colorado. My wife, Nicola Pinson, and I now live in Portland, Oregon.

I am a contributing editor at Wired and my work has also been published in magazines such as Newsweek, Discover, National Geographic Traveler, New Scientist, Outside, Delta Sky and Forbes. My first book, A Left-Hand Turn Around the World: Chasing the Mystery and Meaning of All Things Southpaw, was published by Da Capo Press (hardcover 2005, paperback 2006). My most recent book, Righting the Mother Tongue: From Olde English to Email, the Tangled Story of English Spelling, was published by HarperCollins in October, 2008.

For publicity and media inquiries about Righting the Mother Tongue, please contact: Larry.Hughes (at) HarperCollins.com.
For publicity and media inquiries about A Left-Hand Turn Around the World, please contact: Lissa.warren (at) PerseusBooks.com.

Photo: Coert Voorhees