Sarah Lyall – The New York Times

I’m a writer at large for The New York Times, meaning that I’m not assigned to a single department but cover a range of topics.

What I Cover

My job lets me roam around The Times, writing news stories, features and analysis for Culture, Books and (sometimes) National, International and Business. I write a monthly thrillers column for the Book Review, am an occasional contributor to the Book Review podcast and often write about TV, movies and other things for the Culture section. I also get to write about sports, which allows me to help anchor our annual coverage of one of my favorite events: the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

My Background

I grew up in New York City, studied history at Yale, then moved to Washington, D.C., in the 1980s to seek my fortune. I started as a news clerk at The Times and have worked here ever since — my entire career — writing for nearly every desk. For nearly 20 years, I lived and worked in London and I have a special interest in the endearing and confounding habits of the British. I’m the author of “The Anglo Files: A Field Guide to the English” and an audiobook, “Unroyal: Three Women Who Shook the Monarchy.”

Journalistic Ethics

I follow the ethics code of The Times, which can be read here. This means (among other things) that I don’t review books by people I know, don’t accept gifts from potential sources and don’t sign petitions, join marches, donate money to political candidates, or weigh in on policy debates on social media. I’ve also made the personal decision not to belong to a political party. I take very seriously the responsibility to always identify myself as a Times reporter when I’m on the job and to quote people accurately and fairly.

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