{{Infobox writer | name = Jim Fusilli | image = Jim Fusilli.jpg | imagesize = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1953|7|17}} | birth_place = Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Novelist | genre = Crime fiction, short stories, historical fiction, Non-fiction | website = {{URL|jimfusilli.com}} | signature = | alma_mater = Saint Peter's University | education = | children = 1 }} {{Short description|American journalist, essayist and novelist}}
'''Jim Fusilli''' is (born July 17, 1953) is an American journalist, essayist and novelist. He served as the rock-and-pop critic for ''The Wall Street Journal'' from 2009 to 2018, and contributed to NPR’s ''All Things Considered''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NPR Search : Jim Fusilli |url=https://www.npr.org/search?query=%22jim%20fusilli%22&page=1 |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=www.npr.org}}</ref> He has written nine novels and is also the author of the ''Pet Sounds'' entry in Bloomsbury Publishing’s 33 1/3 series. Fusilli is host and executive producer of the podcast Writers at Work.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Writers at Work {{!}} Podcast |url=https://writersatworkpodcast.com/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |language=en-US}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Vincent James Fusilli Jr. was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He majored in English at St. Peter’s College (now Saint Peter’s University) where he was a critic for the student newspaper, the ''Pauw Wow''. While in college, Fusilli joined the Teamsters Local 560 as a clerk at Smith Transport, headquartered in Hoboken.
== Writing career ==
=== Journalism === After graduation in 1975, he served as an intern at ''The Jersey Journal'', where he wrote a weekly column on popular music. He also contributed articles to ''The Record''.
In 1982, Fusilli was hired by Dow Jones & Company, in its Corporate Relations department with responsibility for employee communications. Shortly thereafter, he began to contribute to the ''Journal''’s new Leisure and Arts page, whose editor was Raymond Sokolov. His essay "A Wall Street Rocker" was published in ''The New York Times Magazine'' in 1986.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1986-02-09 |title=A Wall Street Rocker |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/02/09/magazine/l-a-wall-street-rocker-130686.html |access-date=2022-12-27 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
While continuing his occasional contributions to the ''Journal'', Fusilli left Dow Jones and joined Sanofi, Inc., the U.S. holding company for the Paris-based Sanofi S.A.. During his 12 years with the company, Fusilli became vice president, Corporate Communications, a position in which he frequently traveled to Paris, accompanied the chairman and CEO Jean-François Dehecq, and worked with Oscar de la Renta, Yves Saint Laurent and other fashion luminaries whose fragrances were marketed by Sanofi. He left the company in 2001.
In 2009, Fusilli was appointed ''The Wall Street Journal''’s rock-and-pop critic, the first in its history, and wrote a weekly column for its Arts section until 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Fusilli — Rock and Pop Critic at The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/news/author/jim-fusilli |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=WSJ |language=en}}</ref>
=== Novels === The first in a mystery series featuring the private detective Terry Orr and his daughter Bella, ''Closing Time'' was published by Penguin Putnam on September 10, 2001. Set in New York's Tribeca district, it was the last novel set in the city prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Subsequently, the sequel, ''A Well-Known Secret'', was the first novel set in New York following the attacks; it addresses the impact on the city, the Tribeca neighborhood and the psyche of the reoccurring characters. Two more novels in the series came thereafter: ''Tribeca Blues'', published in 2003, and ''Hard, Hard City'', published in 2004. ''Hard, Hard City'' was named the Novel of the Year by ''Mystery Ink Magazine''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jim Fusilli |url=https://www.bookreporter.com/authors/jim-fusilli |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=www.bookreporter.com}}</ref> The first three books in the series were subsequently reissued by Open Road Integrated Media.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search Results for Jim fusilli in Books {{!}} Open Road Media |url=https://openroadmedia.com/search-results/books/undefined |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=openroadmedia.com |language=en}}</ref>
Fusilli's novels ''The Road to Nowhere'' (2012) and ''Billboard Man'' (2013) were published by Amazon Publishing’s Thomas & Mercer imprint.
In January 2024, his novel ''The Price You Pay'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Price You Pay |url=https://jimfusilli.com/books/the-price-you-pay/ |access-date=December 8, 2023 |website=Jim Fusilli}}</ref> informed in large part by his experiences as a young Teamster, was published by Down & Out Books.
In April, 2024, ''A Song for Katy Shayne''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-03-13 |title=A Song for Katy Shayne |url=https://jimfusilli.com/books/a-song-for-katy-shayne/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Jim Fusilli |language=en-US}}</ref> will be published by Level Best Books.<ref>{{Cite web |title=JimFussili |url=https://www.levelbestbooks.us/jim-fussili.html |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=LEVEL BEST BOOKS |language=en}}</ref>
=== Audiobooks === Prior to its acquisition by Amazon, Audible had acquired ''Narrows Gate'', which it published as its first mainstream literary novel. Amazon Publishing issued the paperback original version of ''Narrows Gate''. ''Narrows Gate'' was nominated for the Sue Feder Historical Mystery Award in 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macavity Awards – Mystery Readers International |url=https://mysteryreaders.org/macavity-awards/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=mysteryreaders.org}}</ref> Its sequel, ''The Mayor of Polk Street'', was published as an Audible Original in 2019 and by Open Road Media in 2022. Actor and film director Edoardo Ballerini narrated ''Narrows Gate'' and ''The Mayor of Polk Street''.
=== Young adult === Fusilli's novel for young adults, ''Marley Z and the Bloodstained Violin'', was published by Dutton Juvenile in 2008.
=== Short stories === Fusilli's short stories have appeared in magazines including ''Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine'', and anthologies<ref>{{Cite web |title=Books |url=https://jimfusilli.com/books/ |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=Jim Fusilli |language=en-US}}</ref> edited by Lee Child, Dennis Lehane, Laura Lippman, George Pelecanos and others. He edited and contributed to the anthologies ''The Chopin Manuscript'', ''The Copper Bracelet'' and ''Crime Plus Music: Twenty Stories of Music-Themed Noir.'' His anthology ''Brutal & Strange: Stories Based on the Songs of Elvis Costello'', featuring Mark Billingham, Peter Blauner, Meg Gardiner, Catriona McPherson, George Pelecanos, Gary Phillips and others, was published by Down & Out Books in December 2023. His short story "Chellini’s Solution" was included in an edition of the Best American Mystery Stories and his "Digby, Attorney at Law" was nominated for the Edgar<ref>{{Cite web |last=America |first=Mystery Writers of |title=Mystery Writers of America Announces 2010 Edgar Award Nominees |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mystery-writers-of-america-announces-2010-edgar-award-nominees-82050792.html |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=www.prnewswire.com |language=en}}</ref> and Macavity<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macavity Awards |url=http://www.stopyourekillingme.com/Awards/Macavity_Awards.html |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=www.stopyourekillingme.com}}</ref> awards in 2010, presented by the Mystery Writers of America and Mystery Readers International, respectively.
=== Nonfiction === In 2005, Fusilli's writing on ''Pet Sounds'' was published as part of the 33 1/3 series. It was translated for a Japanese language edition by Haruki Murakami'''.'''
=== Podcast === In 2024, Fusilli launched [https://writersatworkpodcast.com/ Writers at Work], a podcast featuring interviews with authors for readers and writers about the joys, heartaches, challenges and satisfaction of the creative writing process. Guests have included Lee Child, and Andrew Child, Carl Hiaasen, Walter Mosley, Sara Paretsky, and Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.
== Personal life == Fusilli and his wife Diane, an international communications executive, reside in New York.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-29 |title=About |url=https://jimfusilli.com/about/ |access-date=2025-03-13 |website=Jim Fusilli |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== <references />
== External links == * [https://jimfusilli.com/ Official website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fusilli, Jim}} Category:The Wall Street Journal people Category:Dow Jones & Company people Alumni Fiction Crime fiction Crime fiction Category:People from Hoboken Category:1953 births Category:Living people