In his life, Isaac Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and was once given a sword by a king, thereby accomplishing three out of five of his childhood goals. He is an author, cultural critic, and commentator on a variety of news platforms.

Isaac is a former co-owner of The Rumpus, where he edited early work by authors we now consider household names, such as Roxane Gay and Cheryl Strayed. Formerly of BuzzFeed Books and BuzzFeed News’ Twitter morning show #AMtoDM, Isaac also appears frequently on The Today Show.

He is the author of the national bestselling children’s book How to Be a Pirate, as well as the co-author of Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them, which Roxane Gay called, “…poignant, charming, heartbreaking, and honest,” and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (with Recipes). Isaac’s essays include, “How I Found A Steady Soundtrack For An Unsteady Life,” “Confessions Of A Former Former Fat Kid,” and “Why I Stopped Running From New York.”

These days, Isaac lives in Brooklyn and is hard at work on two books forthcoming from Bloomsbury: a YA novel and an essay collection titled Dirtbag, Massachusetts.