Jake Lemkowitz

Philadelphia, PA USA
Website: http://cargocollective.com/jakelemkowitz
Contact

Professional Experience

I have interviewed Knicks and eaten brains in the name of a good story. I also eat deadlines for breakfast. As a freelance writer, I specialize in offbeat articles about food/travel/sports/culture. I have an MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction), and I am based in my hometown of Brooklyn, NY.

Expertise

Editor
3 Years
Fact-Checker
3 Years
Writer
5 Years

Specialty

Sports & Recreation
5 Years
Fiction
5 Years
Food
5 Years

Industries


Magazine - Large Consumer/National magazines
2 Years
Academia Teaching
2 Years
Online/new media
4 Years

Total Media Industry Experience

5 Years

Media Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Bread City Basketball (10+), USA Today (10+), Music Under Fire (3-5), Publishers Weekly (3-5), The Brooklyn Review (1-2), The Norman Einsteins (1-2), The Onion A.V. Club (1-2), Title Magazine (1-2), New York Magazine (1-2), Forbes Travel Guides (1-2), Frank151 Magazine (1-2)

Corporate Client List (# assignments last 2 yrs)

Jack Spade (10+), Brook Furniture Retail (6-10)

Other Work History

I was the Assistant Editor for HOOP, the official magazine of the NBA, before going to graduate school and teaching English. I have ghostwritten successful book proposals, proofread encyclopedias, maintained multiple sports/culture blogs, pulled weeds as a farmhand, and I currently tend bar part time.

Computer Skills

I'm highly literate with a Mac, and I blog with the best using both Tumblr and Wordpress. Also handy with Microsoft Office and Adobe suites.

Equipment

My trusty MacBook.

Work Permits & Visas

US citizen.

Awards

2006 Diane Vreuls Fiction Prize 2005 Oberlin Alumni Ficiton Award

Showcase

Sports

Examining the Orlando Magic's upset of the Cleveland Cavaliers, and the media's hopes for a Kobe vs. Lebron showdown, through the lens of French Renaissance Painting and ESPN.
The true story of Michael Jordan's "flu game" in Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals.
Jai Alai was once Miami's most iconic sport. Now it's all-but-gone. Nevertheless, as long as Jai Alai exists, it's still fast, Basque, and dangerous.
The story of the 1994 NBA Finals in a single photograph.
A brief investigation of American Indian basketball and the existence of the swastika in traditional Navajo culture.
A brief look at the role of basketball in the Japanese-American prison camps, with art by the author.
The Collegiate Sprint Football League offers smash-mouth college pigskin, with one major difference from the NCAA: you must weigh less than 172 pounds to play.

Fiction

A love story about basketball and New York City.
These seven fictional entries were written for the catalog of a multi-media exhibition-in- a-box by Olivia Verdugo. The exhibit featured artwork and writing inspired by the life and legend of John James Audubon.
A short story about a boy on an island who naturally decides to steal an antique gun and shoot his dog, but then everything goes wrong. And there is baseball.

Food

A semi-gonzo profile of kava, the traditional South Pacific drink that is also a mild hallucinogen when taken in large quantities.
Discover the incredible versatility of your grill with recipe ideas that push the boundaries of typical backyard fare.
The North American Black Bear, his diet, and the sandwich he inspired.
Two bloggers share the stories behind two of their most memorable meals.
The lighter the pack, the greater the adventure. How to backpack without a stove, and still eat like a king on the trail.

Culture

From ancient Greek theatre to Occupy Wall Street, a selective history of the mask.
How Joe Buck made it from Queens to Japan as the artist behind one of hip hop's most iconic album covers.
Put French New Wave filmmaking techniques, nonlinear West African storytelling, and post-colonial politics together in a blender: The result is Touki Bouki.
The brief history of how a television show changed architecture, fashion, and the city of Miami.
Review of ASAP Rocky's video for "Purple Swag."
The motorcycle as art and object of obsession in a Philadelphia garage.
Proposal for an avant-garde collection of New York City animal action figures, created on spec for Hasbro.

Travel

The best of subterranean Chinese street food dining in Flushing, Queens.
A definitive guide to Times Square for people who hate Times Square.
Summering can be so crass. Wintering is much more civilized.
An all-week guide to Philadelphia's South Street Headhouse District.
A guide to the Ocean State's capital city for food-obsessed travelers.