Ariel Sabar won the National Book Critics Circle Award for his debut book, My Father’s Paradise: A Son’s Search for his Family’s Past (2008). His second book, Heart of the City (2011), was called a “beguiling romp” (New York Times) and an “engaging, moving and lively read” (Toronto Star). His Kindle Single, The Outsider: The Life and Times of Roger Barker (2014), was a best-selling nonfiction short and adapted for the radio program This American Life. His latest book, Veritas: A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife (2020), was a finalist for the Edgar Award for best true-crime book of the year and for the Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award.
Ariel is also an award-winning journalist and a contributing writer for The Atlantic magazine. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, Harper’s, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, Washingtonian Magazine, and This American Life. He got his start at LA Weekly, where he spent summers as a college intern, and later worked as a staff writer at the Providence Journal, Baltimore Sun, and Christian Science Monitor, where he covered the 2008 presidential campaigns. He has reported from Africa, Europe, Scandinavia, and the Middle East.
Ariel graduated magna cum laude from Brown University. He taught creative writing at The George Washington University and has lectured about his books and magazine stories at Johns Hopkins University, Georgetown University, the Royal Geographical Society of London, the University of Göttingen, Brown University, and Yale University, where he was a Poynter Fellow in Journalism. He has been interviewed about his books and articles on NPR, PBS NewsHour, and the BBC World Service.
Book and Journalism Awards
• Winner, National Book Critics Circle Award for Autobiography
for best autobiography published in the United States
• Winner, National award for best profile writing in a city or regional magazine
City and Regional Magazine Association (CRMA)
• Winner, Front Page Award for Distinguished Feature Writing
Washington-Baltimore Newspaper Guild
• Winner, Rodda Book Award
for books of writerly excellence that contribute significantly to
congregations' spiritual growth
Church & Synagogue Library Association
• Winner, Features category, David Pike Excellence in Journalism Award
for reporting that changes perceptions about homelessness
• Winner, First place, National award for best in-depth newswriting on religion
American Academy of Religion
• Finalist, Edgar Award for Best True-Crime Book of the Year
Mystery Writers of America
• Finalist, Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award
• Finalist, Nonfiction book category, Dayton Literary Peace Prize
International award for works of high literary quality that help promote
peace and global understanding
• Finalist, Narrative journalism category, Excellence in Feature Writing Contest
American Association of Sunday & Feature Editors
• Finalist, John B. Oakes Award for Distinguished Environmental Journalism
administered by Columbia Journalism School
Ariel Sabar 