Jen Chaney has been writing about movies, television and popular culture since she got her first “journalism job” in 1983, as the film critic for her elementary school newsletter. (She gave A Christmas Story three stars. She stands by that review.)
She currently writes reviews, features and essays about film, TV, books and pop culture for numerous publications, including New York Magazine’s Vulture, The Washington Post, The Dissolve, Esquire, Yahoo! Movies and Salon, among others. She is also currently working on a book about the movie Clueless, slated for publication in 2015 by Touchstone Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
Prior to becoming a freelance writer in 2013, Jen spent 12 and a half years working at The Washington Post, where, among other things, she wrote the popular Celebritology blog originally founded by her friend and colleague, Liz Kelly. In 2011, she contributed several essays to A Friday Night Lights Companion: Love, Loss, and Football in Dillon, Texas (Smart Pop), allowing her to finally explore the deeper meaning of Tim Riggins in semi-literary form.
In addition to her work, Jen derives pleasure from family, friends, the sight of her napping beagle and American Top 40 broadcasts from the 1980s.