Michael Maren

Maren wrote, directed and produced his first feature film, A Short History of Decay--"a dark comedy about stepping up when your parents are going downhill"--in 2012; the film stars Bryan Greenberg, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Linda Lavin, Harris Yulin, Kathleen Rose Perkins and Benjamin King. The film was released theatrically in May 2014. The New York Times called the film "well-observed" and noted its strength in portraying family relationships.

In 1999, Maren began working as a screenwriter. He's written scripts for HBO, Sony Pictures, and several independent producers; he's also taught screenwriting at Wesleyan University, The Provincetown Fine Arts Work Center, and the Taos Writers’ Conference.

Maren chronicled his experiences abroad in his book, The Road to Hell: The Ravaging Effects of Foreign Aid and International Charity, published in 1997 by The Free Press.

In 1997, Maren married writer Dani Shapiro. They have a son, Jacob, and they live in Litchfield, Connecticut.

Maren joined the Peace Corps in 1977 and served for two years teaching English and Physics at a secondary school in rural Kenya. He remained in Kenya, running the food-for-work program with the Catholic Relief Services; later he worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Somalia, serving as a food assessment specialist on the Somali border with Ethiopia.

Maren grew up in Andover, Massachusetts and graduated from Northfield Mt. Hermon in 1973. As an undergraduate he attended Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. In 1984, Maren earned his master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Michael Maren (born November 15, 1955) is an American journalist, screenwriter, and director. He spent seventeen years as a foreign correspondent based in Africa, writing for The Village Voice, Newsweek, The New Republic, Harper's, GQ, The New York Times Magazine, among others. His book, about his experiences in Somalia, The Road to Hell, was called "the seminal critique of foreign aid" by The New Yorker. In 2012 he wrote and directed his first feature film, A Short History of Decay. His newest feature film, Shiver, is currently in production.