Jennifer Oko

Jennifer’s memoir Lying Together: My Russian Affair (published under her maiden name, Jennifer Beth Cohen) was called “simply riveting” in The New York Times Book Review, which twice named it an "Editor's Choice." Publisher's Weekly called it "sharp, fast-paced... a fascinating glimpse inside the world of news gathering and contemporary Russia" and The San Francisco Chronicle said it was "a heady cocktail... a quick, juicy read." Her novel Gloss, a satire of morning television news, also received ample praise, with Marie Claire magazine comparing it to Carl Hiaasen’s Lucky You and The Chicago Tribune saying it was “a rare treat.” Her novel Head Case is a comic mystery about psycho-pharmaceutical trafficking, which she swears is not autobiographical in any way.

Jennifer is also a journalist and filmmaker. She is a co-founder of the boutique production company Because.Media, which develops and creates documentary films and video for outlets ranging from HBO, PBS, Netflix, and The New York Times to the MacArthur Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Recent projects include a documentary for Netflix (untitled, currently in production) and HBO’s forthcoming When A Witness Recants (with director Dawn Porter) on wrongful conviction.

Jennifer holds a Master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, a BA in Russian Language and Literature from Tufts University, and a BFA in Studio Arts from the School of The Museum of Fine Arts. She lives in Washington, DC.