Jen Banbury is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

, author

Author

An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...

 and journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

. She studied at Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 and was a member of Manuscript Society

Manuscript Society

Manuscript Society is a senior secret society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Toward the end of each junior year, 16 undergraduates are "tapped" to be inducted into the society, which meets twice weekly for dinner and discussion...

. After publishing plays and a novel, she turned to reporting in 2003, becoming a freelancer who has reported for NPR

NPR

NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...

, Salon.com

Salon.com

Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...

, and other organizations. In 2003 and 2004, she reported from Baghdad for Salon. On March 3, 2004, Salon published her story "Guantanamo on Steroids", one of the earliest articles about U.S. soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib

Abu Ghraib

The city of Abu Ghraib in the Baghdad Governorate of Iraq is located just west of Baghdad's city center, or northwest of Baghdad International Airport. It has a population of 189,000. The old road to Jordan passes through Abu Ghraib...

. It was listed as one of the "Best of Salon" for 2003. Her Salon reporting was cited and her story "Night Raid in Baghdad" was reprinted in Boots on the Ground: Stories of American Soldiers from Iraq to Afghanistan by Clint Willis.

Publications

• Novel: Like a Hole in the Head, 1998 (ISBN 0316171107). Mentioned on pages 14, 18, 138, and 139 of Novelist's Essential Guide to Crafting Scenes by Raymond Obstfeld
  Raymond Obstfeld
  Raymond Obstfeld is an American novelist, screenwriter and non-fiction writer. He teaches creative writing at Orange Coast College.-Biography:...
  
   (ISBN 0898799732).
• Play: How Alex Looks When She's Hurt, 1998

External links

• August 2004 Interviw with Banbury
• "Guantanamo on Steroids" from Salon.
• "For the first time, I've started to feel unsafe in Iraq" March 20, 2004 story on Salon.
• "Fleeing Baghdad" April 7, 2004 story on Salon.
• "Vigilantes Go on the Offensive to Bait Net Crooks" June 24, 2005 story for the NPR
  NPR
  NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
  
   program Morning Edition
  Morning Edition
  Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
  
  .
• A Mobile Propane Salesman in Baghdad Soundclip broadcast on All Things Considered
  All Things Considered
  All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
  
   on September 15, 2006.
• "Latest in the fight against arson" June 30, 2006 story for Minnesota Public Radio
  Minnesota Public Radio
  Minnesota Public Radio , is the flagship National Public Radio member network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, Classical Music and The Current, MPR operates a 42-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest serving over 8 million people...
  
   program Marketplace
  Marketplace (radio program)
  Marketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...
  
  .
• Review of Like a Hole in the Head by Suzette Lalime Davidson on Salon (May 1, 1998.
• Review of Hole and comments on Banbury's other work by Sarah Weinman, the Baltimore Sun's crime fiction columnist.
• Review of Hole by Brian Morton
  Brian Morton
  Brian Morton may refer to:*Brian Morton , American academic and novelist*Brian Morton , Scottish broadcaster, journalist and writer, who is most widely known as a jazz critic*Brian Morton...
  
   in the New York Times, Published: May 3, 1998.