Bob Kolker
robertkolker.com
Bob Kolker
@robertkolker.com
Nonfiction author of HIDDEN VALLEY ROAD and LOST GIRLS. THE VANISHING FAMILY is coming 9/29/26. Contributor to The New York Times Magazine and other pubs. For articles and contact info, visit robertkolker.com
Reposted by Bob Kolker
Robert Kolker joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the story of nine siblings who began to lose themselves to frontotemporal dementia.
What a single family can reveal about dementia - Think
Robert Kolker joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the story of nine siblings who began to lose themselves to frontotemporal dementia.
think.kera.org
September 29, 2026 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
“What if writing were fun?” and other questions with Robert Kolker.
buff.ly/64vzdml
Robert Kolker Motivates Himself By Asking “What if Writing Were Fun?”
Robert Kolker’s new book, The Vanishing Family, is available now from Doubleday, so we asked him a few questions about writer’s block, favorite books, writing practice, and more. * Who do you…
buff.ly
September 29, 2026 at 4:30 PM
I am so thrilled to be talking with you @lauralippman.bsky.social
on Wednesday. Please join us!
Happy pub date to Bob, one of the best/nicest journalists working today. I’m the lucky person who gets to interview Bob on the Baltimore leg of his tour, you can attend live or virtually. This is a rare chance to see TWO GRADUATES OF WILDE LAKE HIGH SCHOOL.

calendar.prattlibrary.org/event/robert...
September 30, 2026 at 3:06 AM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
Super-excited to see Bob Kolker talk about his new book!
September 28, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
Happy publication day to @robertkolker.com!! (This book is gorgeously heartbreaking, and will help so many people.)
I’m over the moon about today’s review of THE VANISHING FAMILY in The New York Times. Many thanks to Casey Schwartz and the Book Review for their attention to this family’s inspiring story. 😊
September 29, 2026 at 12:17 PM
I’m over the moon about today’s review of THE VANISHING FAMILY in The New York Times. Many thanks to Casey Schwartz and the Book Review for their attention to this family’s inspiring story. 😊
September 29, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Some tickets left for tonight’s launch (9/28) in Manhattan with Susannah Cahalan (Brain on Fire) - come join us www.92ny.org/event/robert...
September 28, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Thx @bookpage 🙏
"With this book, Kolker can claim the title of the Ann Patchett of nonfiction family dramas: He infuses intimate, cataclysmic moments with emotional acuity, allowing readers to feel both embedded and invested in his subjects’ unimaginable challenges." www.bookpage.com/reviews/the-...
Book review of The Vanishing Family by Robert Kolker
With his breathtaking chronicle of a family with a rare form of dementia, Kolker claims his title as the Ann Patchett of nonfiction family dramas.
www.bookpage.com
September 28, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
Soon we’ll all be able to see our medical futures -- whether it’s a genetic cancer risk, likelihood of dementia, or a familial pattern of mental illness. But do we really want to gaze into the crystal ball? by @robertkolker.com www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com
Opinion: Soon we’ll all be able to see our medical futures. Do we want to look into the crystal ball?
Whether it’s a genetic cancer risk or a familial pattern of mental illness, we all wonder about what we would and wouldn’t want to know about our destinies
www.theglobeandmail.com
September 27, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Thanks to NPR and Scott Simon for the chat about THE VANISHING FAMILY this morning on Weekend Edition. www.npr.org/2026/09/26/n...
Award-winning journalist Robert Kolker talks about his book, 'The Vanishing Family'
NPR's Scott Simon talks with journalist Robert Kolker about his new book, "The Vanishing Family." It's about a family with a high risk of frontotemporal dementia due to a genetic mutation.
www.npr.org
September 26, 2026 at 1:31 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
Under the Radar searches its archives and highlights the work of Robert Kolker and Tayari Jones — authors selected by both Oprah Winfrey and GBH’s Callie Crossley for their book clubs. https://bit.ly/4dccfoP
Celebrating 30 years of Oprah’s Book Club
Under the Radar searches its archives and highlights the work of Robert Kolker and Tayari Jones — authors selected by both Oprah Winfrey and GBH’s Callie Crossley for their book clubs.
bit.ly
September 18, 2026 at 11:44 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
Dementia patients gradually lose social inhibitions, empathy and shame, forcing those who love them to ask: How much of the self endures?

Read more from Robert Kolker: 🔗 on.wsj.com/4hazkdX
September 18, 2026 at 5:50 PM
Excited to share the story of this inspirational family. Thanks to the NY Times for highlighting it. Publishing Sept 29 - tour info coming soon, featuring conversations with some wonderful special guests 😀 @doubledaybooks.bsky.social
August 26, 2026 at 11:18 AM
I’m honored to be part of the program of this week’s #NAMICon26 in Atlanta. My session is Friday May 29: “The Power and Risk of Telling Stories About Serious Mental Illness.” Come say hello 😁 events.nami.org/namicon2026/...
Home
events.nami.org
May 24, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
New from me: “Despite all talk of closure for eight families, the matter of Shannan Gilbert remains both separate from and essential to the story of the Long Island serial killer — the case’s first and last great unsolved mystery.”

What Happened to Shannan? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/n...
What Happened to Shannan?
www.nytimes.com
April 12, 2026 at 11:05 AM
New from me: “Despite all talk of closure for eight families, the matter of Shannan Gilbert remains both separate from and essential to the story of the Long Island serial killer — the case’s first and last great unsolved mystery.”

What Happened to Shannan? www.nytimes.com/2026/04/12/n...
What Happened to Shannan?
www.nytimes.com
April 12, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
For an explanation of the apathy, corruption, misogyny, and institutional rot that allowed #RexHeuermann to roam free for decades, read on (gift link provided): www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/m...
April 8, 2026 at 1:05 PM
For an explanation of the apathy, corruption, misogyny, and institutional rot that allowed #RexHeuermann to roam free for decades, read on (gift link provided): www.nytimes.com/2023/10/19/m...
April 8, 2026 at 1:05 PM
“The point of ‘Lost Girls’ was that the killer chose his victims because he thought that they wouldn’t be missed. And the tragedy is that for many years he was right.”
www.cnn.com/2026/04/08/u...
Suspect in Gilgo Beach serial killings expected to plead guilty in court today | CNN
Rex Heuermann has been in custody since July 2023 and has pleaded not guilty to the murders of seven women, including four whose bodies were found on Gilgo Beach in 2010.
www.cnn.com
April 8, 2026 at 10:33 AM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
A word about my latest feature for The Atlantic: Though it’s about sleep, I am hoping it’s not a *typical* story about sleep. I despise most stories about sleep. Why? Glad you asked... 1/7
June 30, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
T-minus 26 days before my memoir, "An Exercise in Uncertainty," is published. Learn more about it (and please pre-order!) here: penguinrandomhouse.com/books…. A portion of all proceeds will be donated to multiple myeloma research.
May 15, 2025 at 11:11 AM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
I’m hosting a celebration of Kenneth Koch at The New School on March 17 at 7 pm. Speakers will include Robert Polito, Ron Padgett, Maxine Groffsky, John Keene, Lucy Sante and Jim Jarmusch.
Some personal news
February 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Reposted by Bob Kolker
We’re thrilled to announce that Kirsten Danis is our new Investigations editor. www.nytco.com/press/kirste...
Kirsten Danis Is Our New Investigations Editor | The New York Times Company
www.nytco.com
February 12, 2025 at 3:28 PM