Karyn E. Bosnak (born September 24, 1972) is an American author of two published books: Save Karyn and 20 Times a Lady, the latter of which became the movie "What's Your Number?" starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans.
Karyn Bosnak | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1972 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Columbia College Chicago (BA) |
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Notable works | Save Karyn (2003), 20 Times a Lady (2006) |
| Website | |
| www | |
Early life and career
editKaryn Bosnak was born in Chicago, Illinois. After briefly attending the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College Chicago in 1996.[1] She currently resides in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cobble Hill.[2]
Books
editSave Karyn (2003)
editAfter spending much of her early career as a daytime television talk-show producer, Bosnak moved from Chicago to New York in 2000. After quickly running up $20,000 of shopping-induced credit card debt, Bosnak lost her job and found herself unable to pay it back. In June 2002, she started savekaryn.com, a humorous albeit controversial website on which she brazenly asked strangers to help pay it off. The website garnered international media attention and worked; Bosnak paid off her debt in twenty weeks.
In 2003, Bosnak chronicled her struggles with debt in the memoir Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back. It was published in the United States by HarperCollins and is now available in over ten languages around the world.[3]
Bosnak has since donated the same amount of money she received from people to charity.[4]
20 Times a Lady (2006)
editWith the success of her first book, Bosnak abandoned the television industry altogether and began writing full-time. In 2006, her first novel, 20 Times a Lady, was published in the United States by HarperCollins. It served as the basis for the feature film What's Your Number? starring Anna Faris and Chris Evans. On September 6, 2011, the book was re-issued under the title What's Your Number?.[5]
Media
editBosnak has appeared as a guest on numerous radio and television shows including The Today Show and 20/20. Articles about her have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, People, and Time.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
In 2002, The New York Times Magazine included Bosnak's "Save Karyn" website in their annual "Year in Ideas" list.[13]
In 2007, VH1 ranked Bosnak as #31 on their list of the "40 Greatest Internet Superstars."[14]
References
edit- ^ "Columbia College Chicago : 20 Times a Lady". Archived from the original on 2011-06-09. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
- ^ "Save Karyn's Pooch Has Happy Birthday | Cobble Hill Blog". Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2011-07-04.
- ^ "Save Karyn: One Shopaholic's Journey to Debt and Back". Karyn Bosnak. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "About". Karyn Bosnak. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Bosnak, Karyn (6 September 2011). What's Your Number?: A Novel. William Morrow Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0062062628.
- ^ "Karyn Bosnak". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Cyberbegging: Asking the Public to Pay the Bills". ABC News. 1 February 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Sklar, Rachel (28 July 2002). "NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: NEW YORK ONLINE; Pardon Me, but Could You Help A Girl Down on Her Luck?". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "USATODAY.com - SaveKaryn saves Prada-lover from the poorhouse". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Hate Her? Pity Her? Learn From Her". pqasb.pqarchiver.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Somenerve.com – Vol. 58 No. 14". 30 September 2002. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ Barovick, Harriet (9 December 2002). "Panhandling.com". Archived from the original on October 22, 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2017 – via www.time.com.
- ^ Thompson, Clive (15 December 2002). "The Year in Ideas; Open-Source Begging". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2017.
- ^ "Karyn Bosnak- Internet Beggar - The Greatest - VH1". VH1. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2017.