Beth Macy
Beth Macy | |
|---|---|
| Macy in 2024 Macy in 2024 | |
| Born | c. 1964 (age 61–62) Urbana, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Bowling Green State University (BS) Hollins University (MA) |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Notable works |
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| Spouse | Tom Landon |
| Children | 2 |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
Beth Macy (born c. 1964) is an American journalist and non-fiction writer. She is the author of five books including the four national bestsellers Factory Man (2014), Truevine (2016), Dopesick (2018) and Paper Girl (2025).[1][2][3] Macy is a Democratic candidate for Virginia's 6th congressional district.[4]
Early life
[edit | edit source]The daughter of a factory worker, Sarah Macy Slack, and a housepainter father, Macy grew up in Urbana, Ohio.[2][5] She was the first in her family to attend college, receiving a bachelor's degree in journalism from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1986.[2] In 1993, she earned a master's degree in creative writing from Hollins University in Hollins, Virginia.[6]
Career
[edit | edit source]Macy was a reporter for The Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia from 1989 to 2014.[7] She writes essays and op-eds, including for The New York Times, in addition to writing for magazines. In 2010, she was awarded the Nieman Fellowship for Journalism by Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[8] In 2023, she was named a Guggenheim Fellow for General Non-Fiction.[9]
In June 2020, Macy was an executive producer and co-writer for an eight episode Hulu series based on her 2018 book, Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America. Dopesick tells the story of America's opioid crisis and the deadly role played by members of the Sackler family, the former owners of Purdue Pharma. The series was developed by Danny Strong and stars Michael Keaton.[10]
In 2020, Macy wrote a follow up to Dopesick titled Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis.[11] It documents heroic efforts by grassroots activists and families to combat addiction and resistance to scientifically valid treatment methods.
In her latest book, Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, Macy returns to her hometown of Urbana, Ohio, to document the changes there resulting from globalization, addiction, and a divided America.[12]
Awards
[edit | edit source]Macy won numerous national honors for reporting on race, immigrants and refugees, caregiving for the elderly, and teen pregnancy during her more than 20 years as a reporter at The Roanoke Times. She has received an Associated Press Managing Editors award,[13] the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism,[14] and an award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.[15]
Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town received the J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Award in 2013.[16]
Dopesick was shortlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.[17]
In 2022, Macy and Strong won the USC Scripter Award for an episode in the Dopesick Hulu series, "The People vs Purdue Pharma."[18]
2026 U.S. House of Representatives campaign
[edit | edit source]On November 18, 2025, Macy announced her candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in Virginia's 6th congressional district as a Democrat in the 2026 midterm elections.[19]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Macy lives in Roanoke, Virginia with her husband, Tom Landon. They have two adult children.[20][21]
Works
[edit | edit source]- Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local—and Helped Save an American Town; (2014, Little Brown & Co.; Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).; OCLC 1003808101)[1]
- Truevine: Two Brothers, a Kidnapping, and a Mother's Quest: A True Story of the Jim Crow South; (2016, Little, Brown & Co.; Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).; OCLC 971462415)[22]
- Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company That Addicted America; (2018, Little, Brown & Co.; Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).; OCLC 1043454094)[23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
- Finding Tess: A Mother's Search for Answers in a Dopesick America; (2019 Audible Original Audiobook; ASIN B07T2NSXHY)
- Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America's Overdose Crisis; (2022, Little Brown & Co.; Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).; OCLC 1288140355) [30][31][32]
- Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America; (2025, Penguin Random House; Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). [33][34][35]
References
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External links
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- Appearances on C-SPAN
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- 1960s births
- 20th-century American journalists
- 20th-century American women journalists
- 20th-century American women writers
- 21st-century American non-fiction writers
- 21st-century American women writers
- American women essayists
- Bowling Green State University alumni
- Candidates in the 2026 United States elections
- Hollins University alumni
- Journalists from Ohio
- Journalists from Virginia
- Living people
- Nieman Fellows
- People from Urbana, Ohio
- Virginia Democrats
- Women in Virginia politics
- Writers from Roanoke, Virginia