Susan Orlean is a renowned American journalist, television writer, and bestselling author known for her notable works such as The Orchid Thief and The Library Book. She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992 and has contributed to various prestigious magazines such as Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside.

In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of the HBO comedy series How To with John Wilson. Her 1998 non-fiction book The Orchid Thief was adapted into the film Adaptation in 2002, where Meryl Streep portrayed Orlean's character, earning an Academy Award nomination for her performance.

Orlean was born on October 31, 1955, and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She studied literature and history at the University of Michigan. Post-college, she lived in Portland, Oregon, where she embarked on her writing career. Later, she moved to Boston in 1982 and then to New York, where she continued to thrive as a writer and author.

Orlean currently resides in Los Angeles, where she continues to write for The New Yorker and work on her books. She also engages in side projects, including a weekly column for Medium, running a book club on Literati, and participating in speaking engagements.