John Bebee-West

John West is a writer and technologist, currently reporting the news with code at the Wall Street Journal, where his work has won a Loeb, a Philip Meyer, a SABEW, a Barlett and Steele, two New York Press Club awards—and was a finalist for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize in explanatory reporting and the winner of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting. Previously, he worked as a researcher at the MIT Media Lab and as a writer and engineer at Quartz. He has covered Facebook’s, Google’s and TikTok’s algorithms, revealed conflicts of interest in the heart of the executive branch, and investigated decades-old infrastructure leaching toxic metal into the soil. His reportage and essays have also appeared in Comment, Fast Company, the Washington Post, and elsewhere.

His first book, Lessons and Carols was published in May of 2023 by Wm. B. Eerdmans. It received praise from Megan Mayhew Bergman (“smart, potent, and fearless writing”), Shane McCrae (“a book that with its fullness reaffirms life”), and others. It was favorably reviewed in the Boston Globe ("lyrical and crystalline") and elsewhere. He holds an MFA in writing from Bennington College and degrees in philosophy and music performance from Oberlin College and Conservatory. His next book, Fertile Circuits, is forthcoming from Eerdman’s.

WE USE THE INTERNET TO PRACTICE DYING (Nonfiction, Forthcoming: Eerdman’s)

WE USE THE INTERNET reveals the rot lurking in the foundation of the internet: everything we put there is fading away. John West, a writer and technologist whose reporting has won the Pulitzer Prize, argues that we should embrace the death of our online ephemera in order to reclaim a more human world. The inexorable drift and destruction of web pages—a phenomenon researchers call link rot—isn’t a scourge to be overcome; rather, it’s an ally in the fight to reclaim a better way to be online. In the garden, we weed and prune, mulch and compost. We let rot and decay create order and beauty. At its core, the internet is no different. If we accept our digital ephemerality and reclaim the power to choose, we will end up with a more fertile web, one that grows stronger communities and a more vibrant, human world.

Rights Sold: World
Rights Available: Inquire
Agent: Zeynep Sen

THE PSALMIST (Fiction, Forthcoming: Union Square – HBGUSA)

When Mark returns to his hometown in rural Vermont for his mother’s funeral, the last thing he expects is to find himself suddenly stuck raising his sister Beth’s newborn baby. Yet with Beth gone and with no one else to take responsibility for the baby, he has no choice but to put his life in Boston on hold. Caught between grief and worry at his sister’s disappearance, anger from knowing hers is an absence that’s driven by her addiction, understanding as a former addict—an alcoholic—himself, and stress over his newfound position as a guardian, Mark’s life turns into a whirlwind of uncertainty.

Struggling yet knowing he can’t break down, Mark turns to his newfound faith, which seems fitting given how much of a believer his mother was. More specifically, he turns to the Psalms. Every day he finds a random psalm to read and every day he looks for meaning in it, something that can help him to make sense of the quiet chaos his life has been thrown into.

As a radio producer, it seems only natural to record himself reading these psalms aloud, along with any other snippets of noise he can catch throughout the day, be it the sound of the wind or the yet-to-be-named baby crying. As the days go by and Mark’s savings start dwindling, given that he has taken a long leave of absence from work, his faith is tested in more ways than one, though life does seem to drop welcome boons onto his doorstep—a love he might never have pursued and invaluable friends he never would have made otherwise.

Rights Sold: World English
Rights Available: Translation
Agent: Zeynep Sen