Evan Alan Wright was born on December 28, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in the nearby suburb of Willoughby. Both of his parents were lawyers – his father was a prosecutor who later became general counsel for a utility company. Wright attended the private Hawken School but was expelled for selling marijuana. He was sent to a home for troubled youth called The Seed before returning to Hawken and making the state debate finals.
Wright went on to study at Johns Hopkins University and Vassar College, graduating from Vassar with a degree in medieval history. His first journalism job was interviewing a South African political leader for a small magazine that didn’t end up paying him.
Evan Wright Journalism Career
In 1995, Wright became the entertainment editor and chief porn reviewer for Hustler magazine. He wrote about his experiences and the porn industry in articles for Salon and LA Weekly in 2000.
Starting in 1996, Wright began writing immersive long-form pieces on various subcultures for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and other publications. His subjects ranged from radical environmentalists to neo-Nazis to Motley Crue. Many of these essays were collected in his 2009 book Hella Nation, which painted a “comically macabre portrait of American life” according to one reviewer.
Evan Wright Military Reporting
In 2002, Wright traveled to Afghanistan to report for Rolling Stone. The following year, he was embedded with the U.S. Marines’ 1st Reconnaissance Battalion during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He spent weeks with a recon team led by Sgt. Brad Colbert, accompanying them in the lead vehicle and coming under enemy fire.
Wright’s Rolling Stone articles on his time with the Marines, titled “The Killer Elite,” won a National Magazine Award in 2004. He expanded the articles into the book Generation Kill, also published in 2004. The book was praised for its unvarnished, grunt’s-eye view of the early weeks of the Iraq War. In 2008, HBO adapted Generation Kill into a miniseries, with Wright serving as a writer and consulting producer.
Wright returned to Iraq in 2007 to report on the troop surge for Vanity Fair. He interviewed General David Petraeus and embedded with U.S. forces in Baghdad, Ramadi and other cities. His reporting was critical of the U.S. media and political leaders for misrepresenting the realities of the war.
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Evan Wright Other Work
Alongside his journalism, Wright worked in the entertainment industry. He was a producer on the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle and wrote for the Showtime series Homeland. With former drug smuggler Jon Roberts, he co-wrote the memoir American Desperado.
Wright also authored a 2012 e-book, How to Get Away With Murder in America, about a CIA agent who allegedly worked as a mafia hitman. His own troubled teenage years, including his time at The Seed, were the subject of his 2022 memoir The Seed.
Evan Wright Personal Life
Wright was married to Lora Meredith. The couple had two children together.
Although his immersive, “gonzo” style of journalism drew comparisons to Hunter S. Thompson, Wright said his biggest literary influences were Mark Twain and Christopher Isherwood. He felt an affinity for outsiders and underdogs, telling the Columbia Journalism Review “I feel a kind of kinship with big flaming [screw-ups].”
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Evan Wright Death
Evan Wright died by suicide on July 12, 2024 at the age of 59. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed Evan Wright cause of death. No other details about the circumstances of his passing were made public.
News of Wright’s death prompted an outpouring of tributes from friends and colleagues. “We’ve lost a fine journalist and storyteller,” said The Wire creator David Simon, who worked with Wright on Generation Kill. “Evan’s contributions to the scripting and filming of Generation Kill were elemental. He was charming, funny and not a little bit feral, as many reporters are.”
Lt. Nathaniel Fick, one of the Marines featured in Generation Kill, called Wright “a good and gentle guy in a place that was neither good nor gentle. He wasn’t a Marine, but many of us who spent March and April 2003 alongside him have thought of Evan for the past two decades as one of us.”
Wright is survived by his wife, two children, and a legacy of perceptive, impactful journalism that took readers inside hidden corners of the American experience, from the porn industry to the frontlines of war. His work earned him the lasting respect of both the subcultures he covered and the literary establishment. As Wright himself put it, his role was “to inhabit the lives he writes about” with empathy, grit and sly humor. He did that and more over his remarkable career.
Rest in Peace to Evan Wright, who hated the war and loved the soldier.
FAQs
Who was Evan Wright?
Evan Wright was an American writer and journalist best known for his immersive reporting on various subcultures for publications like Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. His most famous work was the 2004 book Generation Kill, chronicling his time embedded with the U.S. Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
What books did Evan Wright write?
Evan Wright authored several notable non-fiction books including Generation Kill (2004), Hella Nation (2009), American Desperado (2011), and How to Get Away With Murder in America (2012). Generation Kill, his first-hand account of the Iraq War, was his most well-known and acclaimed work.
What was Evan Wright’s cause of death?
Evan Wright died by suicide on July 12, 2024 at the age of 59. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed his cause of death. No other details about the circumstances of his passing were made public.
When did Evan Wright die?
Evan Wright passed away on July 12, 2024. News of his death at age 59 prompted an outpouring of tributes from friends, colleagues, and the Marines he covered in his landmark Iraq War reporting.
How old was Evan Wright when he died?
Evan Wright was 59 years old at the time of his death on July 12, 2024. He was born on December 28, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio.
Was Evan Wright married?
Yes, at the time of his death in 2024, Evan Wright was married to Lora Meredith. The couple had two children together.
Did Evan Wright have any children?
Evan Wright and his wife Lora Meredith had two children together. Wright is survived by his wife and kids.
Where was Evan Wright born?
Evan Wright was born on December 28, 1964 in Cleveland, Ohio. He grew up in the nearby suburb of Willoughby.
Where did Evan Wright go to college?
Evan Wright attended Johns Hopkins University and Vassar College, ultimately graduating from Vassar with a degree in medieval history.
What magazines did Evan Wright write for?
Over his career, Evan Wright was a prominent contributor to magazines such as Hustler, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and Time. He served as entertainment editor and chief porn reviewer at Hustler before moving on to immersive reporting for Rolling Stone and other publications.
What was Evan Wright’s writing style?
Evan Wright was known for his immersive, “gonzo” style of journalism that saw him embedding with the subjects of his reporting, from U.S. Marines to neo-Nazis. His writing was praised for its unvarnished, ground-level perspective, gallows humor, and empathy for outsiders and underdogs.
What awards did Evan Wright win?
Evan Wright’s 2004 series in Rolling Stone, “The Killer Elite,” won a National Magazine Award for Reporting. The articles, which chronicled Wright’s time embedded with Marines during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, became the basis for his acclaimed book Generation Kill.
What TV shows did Evan Wright work on?
Evan Wright served as a writer and consulting producer on the HBO miniseries Generation Kill, based on his book about the Iraq War. He also worked as a producer on the Amazon series The Man in the High Castle and a writer on Showtime’s Homeland.
What branch of the military did Evan Wright cover?
Evan Wright is most famous for his coverage of the United States Marine Corps during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. He spent weeks embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, accompanying them in the lead vehicle of the assault and coming under enemy fire.
What other topics did Evan Wright report on besides the military?
In addition to his war reporting, Evan Wright wrote immersive long-form pieces on a wide range of American subcultures, from porn stars to anarchists to neo-Nazis. He aimed to capture the “dark, untamed” underbelly of the country in his writing.
What did Evan Wright struggle with?
As a teenager, Evan Wright struggled with drug use and delinquency. He was expelled from the Hawken School for selling marijuana and sent to a home for troubled youth called The Seed. Wright recounted this chapter of his life in his 2022 memoir, also titled The Seed.
What happened to Evan Wright?
Evan Wright, acclaimed journalist and author of Generation Kill, died by suicide on July 12, 2024 at the age of 59. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed his cause of death. Further details about the circumstances were not released.
How did Evan Wright die?
Evan Wright died by suicide on July 12, 2024, as confirmed by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. He was 59 years old. No other information about the specifics of his death was made public.
What did Evan Wright die from?
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner determined that Evan Wright died by suicide on July 12, 2024 at age 59. His family did not share any additional details about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Why did Evan Wright die?
Evan Wright took his own life on July 12, 2024, dying by suicide at the age of 59 according to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. His family chose not to disclose any other information about the factors contributing to his death.
How did Evan Wright pass away?
Acclaimed Generation Kill author and journalist Evan Wright passed away on July 12, 2024 at age 59. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that Wright died by suicide. His family requested privacy and did not release further details about his passing.
Who were Evan Wright’s biggest influences?
Although his immersive style of journalism drew comparisons to Hunter S. Thompson, Evan Wright said his biggest literary influences were actually Mark Twain and Christopher Isherwood. He admired their writing and felt a kinship with the outsiders and underdogs they tended to cover.
What did other writers say about Evan Wright after his death?
Fellow writers and collaborators mourned Evan Wright as a talented journalist and singular voice after his 2024 death. The Wire creator David Simon called him “a fine journalist and storyteller” whose contributions to Generation Kill were “elemental.” Others hailed Wright’s rare ability to report on subcultures with both clear-eyed honesty and empathy.
What did the Marines featured in Generation Kill say about Evan Wright?
The Marines that Evan Wright covered in Iraq remembered him as “a good and gentle guy in a place that was neither good nor gentle.” Nathaniel Fick said that while Wright wasn’t a Marine himself, those who served with him thought of him as one of their own. They appreciated his unvarnished yet humane depiction of their experiences in Generation Kill.
What was Evan Wright’s legacy?
Evan Wright leaves behind a legacy as one of the great immersive journalists and war correspondents of his generation. His reporting took readers inside hidden corners of the American experience, from the porn industry to the Iraq invasion. Vivid, insightful, and laced with gallows humor, his writing earned him the lasting respect of both the subcultures he covered and the literary establishment.
