Pamela Paul is an author and journalist who writes about social and cultural issues, demographic trends, consumer culture, psychology and health, and family. Her first book, The Starter Marriage and the Future of Matrimony, was named one of the best books of 2002 by The Washington Post ; her second book, Pornified, was named one of the best books of 2005 by The San Francisco Chronicle. Her latest book. Parenting, Inc., an investigation of the "parenting" business, will be published in April 2008 by Times Books.

A graduate of Brown University, Paul began her writing career as a London- and New York-based correspondent for The Economist, where for four years she wrote a monthly column on world arts trends, and contributed film, theatre, and book reviews between 1997 and 2003. She was previously a senior editor for American Demographics magazine, where she wrote about political opinion, and social, media and demographic trends. She currently writes for Time magazine and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times Book Review. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The National Post, Psychology Today, Self, Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, More, The Brown Alumni Monthly, 02138, The New York Sun, and Marie Claire. Online, she has written for Slate, Salon, and Inside.com, and she blogs at The Huffington Post. A frequent public speaker, Paul has also been a guest on Oprah, Good Morning America, The Today Show, The Early Show, and Politically Incorrect, and has made regular appearances on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC, and on National Public Radio.