September 26th, 2023 – Turn Your Beat Reporting into a Book: The Inside Story of Wonder Boy

Tony Hsieh, founder of Zappos, mysteriously died in November, 2020 after being trapped in a shed fire in Connecticut. A week after his death, Forbes reporters, Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans, published the definitive story of Hsieh's life -- from his early entrepreneurial days to Amazon's $1.2 billion acquisition of Zappos in 2009. The reporters chronicled Hsieh's life-long mission to "deliver happiness" to the world, and how this ultimately led to his tragic descent into mental illness and drug addiction. What made the story even more remarkable was a letter the reporters obtained that was written to Hsieh by the singer Jewel, only months prior to his death. "The people you are surrounding yourself with are either ignorant or willing to be complicit in you killing yourself," Jewel wrote.

Shortly after the Forbes article came out, Jeans and Au-Yeung were contacted by a publisher and multiple agents. The result: Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley, was published in April. A review in the New York Times described the book as a "gripping, uncomfortable read."

Join us on Tuesday, Sept. 26th, to hear directly from the authors about their two-year journey to turn this story into a book, followed by networking over wine and light refreshments.

The discussion will be moderated by NYFWA vice president Olivia Carville. 

Panelists:

Angel Au-Yeung, co-author of Wonder Boy, is a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and a former staff writer for Forbes. She was born in Hong Kong and grew up in California, the youngest of three sisters. She attended UC San Diego for her undergraduate studies as a cognitive neuroscience major and Columbia University for her graduate degree in journalism. She currently lives in San Francisco. 

David Jeans, co-author of Wonder Boy, is an investigative reporter for Forbes, where he covers the tech industry. He holds a master’s degree from Columbia Journalism School and has reported for the Associated Press, the New York Times, and other publications. He grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and lives in New York City.

Moderator:

Olivia Carville, an investigative reporter for Bloomberg, is vice president of the NYFWA.

This event is open to NYFWA members in good standing. Guests are welcome to attend by paying the $15 NYFWA guest fee.

When: Tuesday, September 26th, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

Where: Location provided at time of signup

RSVPs Mandatory to: contact@nyfwa.org