Douglas Preston 

Wellesley High School Writer: Douglas Preston 

            A member of one of Wellesley most celebrated writing families, Doug attended WHS and then matriculated at Cambridge School of Weston.  During their early years growing up in Wellesley, Doug and his brothers Richard (see his bio) and David roamed the quiet streets terrorizing neighbors with home-made rockets and incendiary devices mail-ordered from the backs of comic books or concocted from chemistry sets. It is no wonder that he made his career out of writing thrillers.

            Doug has written 36 books of both nonfiction and fiction, of which 29 have been New York Times bestsellers. He is the co-author, with Lincoln Child, of the Agent Pendergast series of thrillers. He writes about archaeology and anthropology for The New Yorker, and The Smithsonian, has worked as an editor of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and taught nonfiction writing at Princeton University.  He currently serves as President of the Authors Guild, the nation’s oldest and largest association of authors and journalists.

            Doug’s solo novel Jennie, about a chimpanzee who can use and understand sign language, was made into a Disney movie, entitled The Jennie Project.  His non-fiction book The Monster of Florence follows his own journey to track an elusive Italian serial killer, and spent three months on The New York Times bestseller list.  It is being turned into a movie by 20th Century Fox, produced by and starring (as Doug) George Clooney.