Jennifer Szalai is the nonfiction book critic at The New York Times.[1] Szalai was born in Canada and attended the University of Toronto, where she studied political science and peace and conflict. She holds a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics.[2]
During the 2000s, she was a senior editor for reviews at Harper's Magazine.[3] Her reviews have also appeared in the London Review of Books,[4] The New Yorker,[5] and many more publications.
She started working as the nonfiction critic for the Times in January 2018,[6] after having worked for four years as an editor for The New York Times Book Review.[7] Szalai is one of the three professional critics who write for The New York Times; the other two are Dwight Garner and Parul Sehgal. Her reviews appear on Wednesdays. She is also a frequent contributor to The Book Review Podcast.
Frank Rich referred to Szalai's review of Bob Woodward's book Rage, about the presidency of Donald Trump, as a "Didion-worthy dissection".[8] In February 2023, Szalai wrote a similar review of The Courage to Be Free by Ron DeSantis.[9]