Steve Volk

I currently live in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where I've worked for the last 10 years as a journalist covering the courts, crime, cops, politics, and lots of human interest features. Like a lot of journalists, I backslid into reporting after a brief, furtive attempt to write a novel. In literary nonfiction, however, I found a way to satisfy my urge to write creatively without going through the messy business of imagining all the details. The great personal lesson for me in reporting is that everyone really does have a great story to tell, and I've yet to meet anyone—whether hero or villain—who hasn't done the best they could, from moment to moment. Sometimes, we are simply found wanting. And other times, we rise above any reasonable expectation people might have for us. In sum, I find working in journalism to be a tremendous honor. People entrust me with the most intimate details of their lives. It's up to me to render their story in a way that does justice to it. I married my wife, Lisa, in June 2010, after a five-year courtship. I worked as an editor and senior writer during a stint with Philadelphia Weekly, from 2002 to 2007. Then I left for a position at Philadelphia Magazine in July 2007, went on leave to write the book Fringe-ology: How I Tried to Explain Away the Unexplainable-And Couldn't, and will begin there again in July 2011.