© Beowulf Sheehan
Glenn Kurtz is the author of Men at Work: The Empire State Building and the Untold Story of the Craftsmen Who Built It, which uncovers for the first time the identities and real-life histories of the construction workers who appear in Lewis W. Hine’s iconic photographs.
His previous book, Three Minutes in Poland: Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film (Farrar, Straus & Giroux 2014), was selected as a "Best Book of 2014" by The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, and National Public Radio. The Wall Street Journal praised it as "captivating," and The Los Angeles Times described Three Minutes in Poland as "breathtaking." A Dutch edition appeared in 2015.
Three Minutes: A Lengthening, a documentary film based on Three Minutes in Poland, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2021. It is directed by Bianca Stigter, co-produced by Academy Award-winner Steve McQueen, and narrated by Helena Bonham Carter.
Three Minutes: A Lengthening was a New York Times Critics’ Pick and was voted “Best Documentary” at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and the Dublin International Film Festival. It was an official selection of the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. In May 2022, it was awarded the inaugural Yad Vashem Award for Excellence in Holocaust Documentary Filmmaking. Three Minutes: A Lengthening is now available on streaming services.
Glenn is also president of The Nasielsk Society, an association of survivors, descendants, and friends, dedicated to the recognition and preservation of the Jewish history of Nasielsk, Poland, the town featured in Three Minutes in Poland. Working with local residents and with partners like the Forum for Dialogue, The Nasielsk Society promotes Holocaust education and meaningful restoration projects. Watch a video about our work here. The Nasielsk Society is a registered 501c3.
Glenn's first book, Practicing: A Musician's Return to Music (Knopf, 2007; Vintage Books, 2008), was hailed by the New York Times as "a thoughtful and fluid meditation" and by Newsday as "the book of a lifetime." Practicing was featured on NPR's "Weekend Edition" with Scott Simon, WNYC's "Leonard Lopate Show," and on many other Public Radio programs. Practicing has been translated into Italian, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean.
From 2008-2015, Glenn hosted "Conversations on Practice," a discussion series about the writing process and the writer's life. Guests included Patti Smith, Jennifer Egan, Martin Amis, Adam Gopnik, Francine Prose, Rebecca Goldstein, and many others.
Glenn is a graduate of the New England Conservatory-Tufts University double degree program and holds a PhD from Stanford University in German studies and comparative literature. He has taught at Stanford University, San Francisco State University, California College of the Arts, and The Gallatin School of Individualized Study, New York University.
A 2016-2017 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellow and a 2019-2023 Presidential Fellow at Chapman University (Orange CA), Glenn is a frequent speaker at venues across the U.S. and internationally.
Representation:
Malaga Baldi Literary Agency
233 West 99th Street 19C
New York, NY 10025
(212) 222-3213
baldibooks@gmail.com
Publicity:
Ruth Weiner
Seven Stories Press
ruth@sevenstories.com
contact:
glennkurtz[at]gmail.com