A journalist and author, I won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Becoming Ms. Burton, which Nicholas Kristof called "stunning” in the New York Times. The book is in the curriculum at numerous universities, included UCLA School of Law, University of Michigan and Hofstra's school of Public Health.
The Whistleblower received international attention and was presented at the United Nations and The Hague, as well as Cornell, Columbia, Loyola Law School, Brandeis, Vanderbilt, and Brown.
I wrote the narrative nonfiction book, Leg the Spread: Adventures in the Trillion-Dollar Boys’ Club of Commodities Trading after spending two years "undercover" in the vicious, open-outcry trading pits of Chicago. Receiving a Starred Kirkus review, the book was featured in numerous publications, from The Economist to O, The Oprah Magazine, and was named Readers' Choice by Elle magazine. I was featured on CNN, PBS and NPR.
Other books include the story of a doctor who rescued orphans from third-world countries, the story of a real-life Dr. Dolittle, and numerous books for business leaders. I also wrote a historical novel, Madam.
I've written for the Wall Street Journal, O:The Oprah Magazine, Hollywood Reporter, Health, Good Housekeeping, the Chicago Tribune, the Guardian, and was a frequent contributor to Deadline Hollywood. My short fiction has appeared in Nikki Finke's Hollywood Dementia.
I received an M.A. in Writing from the Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Maryland.
A long-time Chicagoan, I now live in Los Angeles.
Shawn Barber Photography