August 10, 2009 		Contact:
Anna Christopher, NPR


   

NPR NAMES JACKI LYDEN
INDEPENDENT CONTRIBUTING CORRESPONDENT AND HOST

Lyden Consulting on Movie Based on Her Book
Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, Working on Sequel



August 10, 2009; Washington, D.C. – Journalist Jacki Lyden is assuming a new role at NPR this fall as an independent contributing correspondent and host, it was announced to NPR staff today. In nearly 30 years as an NPR journalist, Lyden has filled a variety of roles and has reported everywhere from the Midwest to the Middle East. In recent months, she was a frequent companion on Saturdays and Sundays, as guest weekend host of All Things Considered.

When she's not contributing pieces to NPR, Lyden will work on her second book, a sequel. Once again, it looks at the relationship between home and memory, between a declining mother, and a daughter exploring memories in Iraq. Her first book, 1997's Daughter of the Queen of Sheba, is currently being developed into a feature film by Storefront Pictures, and will star Amy Adams in the role of Jacki Lyden. Lyden will be a producer on the film.

Lyden began her NPR career in its Chicago bureau in 1979. She covered the farm and auto crisis, and later moved to London and then the Middle East, reporting from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Iran and other countries. She has won multiple journalism awards, including a Gracie Award from The American Women in Radio and Television for best foreign documentary, and contributed to NPR’s wins for Gulf War Coverage (Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award) and coverage of 9/11 (Peabody, duPont-Columbia awards).

"I am thrilled to continue my relationship with an organization and network to which I feel bred to the bone," says Lyden. "Radio is what I do: it is my passion and love. At NPR, I get to work with the most talented producers and reporters out there. I am grateful for this flexibility and new foundation, and can't wait to begin."

Lyden assumes this new role at NPR in mid-September, and her reporting will be heard on all NPR programs and available online at NPR.org.