Jennifer Szalai

{{Short description|The New York Times nonfiction critic}}

{{use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}

Jennifer Szalai is the nonfiction book critic at The New York Times.{{Cite web|title=Jennifer Szalai - The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/by/jennifer-szalai|access-date=2020-12-31|website=www.nytimes.com|language=en}} 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.{{Cite web|date=2017-12-11|title=Canadian Jennifer Szalai named New York Times's new non-fiction critic|url=https://quillandquire.com/book-news/2017/12/11/canadian-jennifer-szalai-named-new-york-timess-new-non-fiction-critic/|first=Sue|last=Carter|access-date=2020-12-31|website=Quill and Quire|language=en}}

During the 2000s, she was a senior editor for reviews at Harper's Magazine.{{Cite web|title=Jennifer Szalai {{!}} C-SPAN.org|url=https://www.c-span.org/person/?jenniferszalai|access-date=2020-12-31|website=www.c-span.org}} Her reviews have also appeared in the London Review of Books,{{Cite web|last=Jennifer Szalai|title=Jennifer Szalai · LRB|url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/contributors/jennifer-szalai|access-date=2020-12-31|website=London Review of Books|language=en-GB}} The New Yorker,{{Cite web|title=Jennifer Szalai|url=https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/jennifer-szalai|access-date=2020-12-31|website=The New Yorker|language=en}} and many more publications.

She started working as the nonfiction critic for the Times in January 2018,{{Cite web|title=Jennifer Szalai hired as 'New York Times' nonfiction critic; Former Gawker staff hope to buy back website|url=https://www.bookforum.com/papertrail/jennifer-szalai-hired-as-new-york-times-nonfiction-critic-former-gawker-staff-hope-to-buy-back-website-23149|date=December 12, 2017|access-date=2020-12-31|website=www.bookforum.com|language=en-US}} after having worked for four years as an editor for The New York Times Book Review.{{Cite web|date=2017-12-11|title=Jennifer Szalai Named New Nonfiction Critic|url=https://www.nytco.com/press/jennifer-szalai-named-new-nonfiction-critic/|first=Pamela|last=Paul|access-date=2020-12-31|website=The New York Times Company|language=en-US}} 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".{{Cite web|last=Rich|first=Frank|date=2020-09-10|title=Why Woodward’s Book Won’t Break Through|url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/09/why-woodwards-book-wont-break-through.html|access-date=2020-12-31|website=Intelligencer|language=en-us}} In February 2023, Szalai wrote a similar review of The Courage to Be Free by Ron DeSantis.{{cite news|last=Szalai|first=Jennifer|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/books/review/ron-desantis-book.html |title=Preaching Freedom, Ron DeSantis Leads By Cracking Down|newspaper=The New York Times|date=February 27, 2023}}