My Mrs. Brown (Norwich) - Author Bio

Author Bio
• Birth—ca. 1955-56
• Where—Norwich, Connecticut, USA
• Education—B.A., Hampshire College; M.F.A., Columbia University
• Currently—lives in New York City, New York


William Norwich is a writer, editor, and video and television reporter. He is the author of the novels My Mrs. Brown (2016) and Learning to Drive (1996), as well as the children’s book Molly and the Magic Dress (2006).

Norwich was born William Goldberg in Norwich, Connecticut. He changed his name after an article proposal he submitted to a magazine was rejected. He resubmitted it, this time under the WASPy sounding nom de plume, William Norwich, and it was accepted. "So," he said, "we changed our name. I became William Norwich from Goldberg, Connecticut."

Norwich earned his Bachelor's from Hampshire College and after graduation briefly taught grade school. He then enrolled at Columbia University, earning an MFA. Although he wanted to be a poet, he ended up working in New York City—first in public relations, then writing profiles for Earl Blackwell's Celebrity Register, and eventually, in 1985, as a protege to famed celebrity columnist Suzy Smith at the Daily News.

Over the years, he has written and edited for the New York Times Magazine, Vogue, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, and New York magazine. He is currently the editor for fashion and interior design at Phaidon Press. (Adapted from New York magazine and from the publisher.)