I’m a writer from Maryland.
I have written for The New York Times Magazine, The Oxford American, Smithsonian, The Washington Post, and many other places. I’m currently writing “A History of Rock and Roll in 15 Drummers,” due out in 2025 from Scribner.
My most recent book is A Song for Everyone: The Story of Creedence Clearwater Revival, (Hachette Books, August 2022), which traces the long journey of this beloved band from their first practices at junior high students in 1958 to the height of late-’60s fame and their 1972 breakup.
My first book, Homeplace: A Southern Town, a Country Legend, and the Last Days of a Mountaintop Honky-Tonk (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, July 2018) tells the story of Joltin' Jim McCoy, a country music impresario from West Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, and the relationship between his work and his community, which included a pre-fame Patsy Cline.
For invitations to your book club or class, or to schedule a personalized workshop to discuss your book proposal or manuscript, email me (johnlingan [at] gmail dot com).
My agent is David Patterson at the Stuart Krichevsky Literary Agency.
Author photo by the Shenandoah's own Pat Jarrett.