Today we’d like to introduce you to Lawrence Grobel
Hi Lawrence, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I developed a thick skin and a determined attitude re self-confidence when all my teenage poetry was rejected by all major magazines. I used to pin their rejections on a cork board in my bedroom, thinking that one day, I’ll prove them wrong. Eventually, I had a poem accepted and still have the $4 check they paid for it. I won a Newsday American History essay contest when I was 15, and that showed me that writing paid, not in money at that time, but in recognition and encouragement. At UCLA, I wrote a weekly column for the newspaper and edited a satirical magazine for three years. In the Peace Corps, besides teaching journalists, I wrote two books, one of them–a memoir called TURQUOISE–was recently given an award by Peace Corps Worldwide. I’ve since written 30 more books and hundreds of magazine articles. I received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship for fiction; Special Achievement Awards from PEN for Conversations with Capote, and Playboy for my interviews with Barbra Streisand, Marlon Brando, Gov. Jesse Ventura, Coach Bob Knight, and Robert De Niro; and the Prix Litteraire from The Syndicat Francais de la Critique de Cinema for Al Pacino: In Conversation with Lawrence Grobel. I was a Contributing Editor for Playboy, Movieline, World (New Zealand), and Trendy (Poland) and was called “A legend among journalists” by Writer’s Digest, and “The Mozart of Interviewers” by Joyce Carol Oates. I created the M.F.A. in Professional Writing for Antioch University; and have taught in the English and Honors Departments at UCLA. Since 2007, I’ve been invited to serve as a jury member at the annual Camerimage Film Festival in Poland. I’ve also appeared in the documentary Salinger and Al Pacino’s docudrama Wilde Salome. Some of my books have been translated into fourteen languages.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being a freelance writer is not easy. You learn early on to deal with rejections, and you either develop a thick skin, or you find another way to earn a living. Articles that often take months to write sometimes don’t get published; scheduled interviews with famous people sometimes get cancelled at the last minute; publications often delay payment for months, so you spend a great deal of time and energy just trying to get paid for work done; books you’ve written can be ignored by reviewers, and those that get attention don’t get reprinted by publishers in a timely fashion. Lots of struggles along the way. But also, a definite freedom to being your own boss.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’ve been a magazine and book writer my entire professional life. I’ve also been a teacher at two universities (Antioch and UCLA) and at the Institute of Journalism in Accra, Ghana for the Peace Corps. As a magazine writer, I’ve written 100s of articles and interviews for Playboy, Rolling Stone, the New York Times, and dozens of other publications. I’m most known for my in-depth interviews with iconic people, like Marlon Brando, Barbra Streisand, Al Pacino, Robin Williams, Lucille Ball, Cher, Henry Fonda, James Spader, Saul Bellow, Truman Capote, Norman Mailer, James A. Michener, Joyce Carol Oates, Gov. Jesse Ventura, Bob Knight, Nobel lauerates Richard Feynman and Linus Pauling, and hundreds of others. I’m most proud of the books I’ve written, among them 3 books of short stories, 2 novels, a memoir, 6 books of conversations, and a text, The Art of the Interview.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I read the New Yorker, listen to NPR, and accept most invitations to be a guest on people’s podcasts.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lawrencegrobel.com
- Instagram: Larry Grobel
- Facebook: Larry Grobel
- LinkedIn: Lawrence Grobel
- Twitter: Larry Grobel
- Youtube: Lawrence Grobel
