Ben Greenman
A literary chameleon who bridges pop culture and high literature, crafting bestsellers for music legends and his own inventive fiction.
Born 1969 (age 57)·American novelist and magazine journalist·Birthday: September 28·Generation X
Biography
Ben Greenman edited at The New Yorker for fourteen years before co-founding Auwa Books with Questlove. He has ghostwritten memoirs for Questlove, George Clinton, and Brian Wilson, channeling each musician's voice into narrative. He has also published novels and short story collections, including 'Superbad' and 'The Slippage,' which blend pop culture with meta-fictional play. As executive editor of Auwa Books, he curates eclectic, genre-crossing titles. His bibliography spans fiction, nonfiction, and comics, all marked by intelligence and humor. He lives in Brooklyn.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Ben was born in 1969, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ben Was Born
The biggest hits of 1969
#1 Movie
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Best Picture
Midnight Cowboy
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Ben's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1969Born
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1974Started school
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1982Became a teenager
Michael Jackson releases Thriller
Gas: $1.22/galHome: $55,200Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Physical" — Olivia Newton-JohnBest Picture: Gandhi
1985Could drive
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1987Could vote
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1990Turned 21
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
1999Turned 30
Columbine shooting; Y2K panic builds
Gas: $1.17/galHome: $113,900Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Believe" — CherBest Picture: American Beauty
2009Turned 40
Michael Jackson dies; Bitcoin created
Gas: $2.35/galHome: $148,500Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Boom Boom Pow" — The Black Eyed PeasBest Picture: The Hurt Locker
2019Turned 50
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 57 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Co-wrote the New York Times bestselling memoir 'Mo' Meta Blues' with Questlove of The Roots.
- Served as an editor at The New Yorker for 14 years, contributing to its signature style.
- Founded and serves as executive editor of Auwa Books, an imprint dedicated to music and culture.
Did You Know?
He wrote a weekly column for the website of the band They Might Be Giants.
One of his early novels, 'Please Step Back', is a fictional biography of a 1960s psychedelic soul singer.
He has published short stories in a wide range of venues, from The New Yorker to McSweeney's to ESPN The Magazine.
“A good story is a machine with all its parts working.”
