Judith Warner

Judith Warner’s nine works of non-fiction have ranged from political biography to social history, with a consistent focus on how we come to know ourselves through the stories we tell. Her columns, magazine articles, reviews and news features have appeared regularly in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many other publications. She was the New York Times op-ed section’s first online columnist, a contributing writer for the Times Magazine, an online columnist for Time, and a special correspondent for Newsweek in Paris. Her mental health journalism has won multiple awards from organizations that include the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and her controversial book, “Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety,” spent eight weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. Her latest book, “And Then They Stopped Talking to Me: Making Sense of Middle School,” was published in May 2020. Her fall 2025 seminar, “Reading and Writing About Mental Illness: Stigma, Scare Stories and Solutions,” will explore the many ways that the media have contributed to prejudicial narratives about people with mental illness and the professionals who treat them. Students will also read and create work that sets the record straight, learning techniques for insightful and compassionate reporting, informed and inclusive research, and storytelling that’s both artful and true.