ABOUT

WIKIPEDIA PROFILE

Writing and speaking from, and to, the head and heart.

John-Manuel Andriote is an author, journalist, and speaker. Andriote has focused on health, LGBTQ issues, and popular culture for more than three decades. In 2014, he also added “children’s author” to his résumé with the publication of Wilhelmina Goes Wandering, based on the true story of a runaway cow in Connecticut.

Health/medical focus - HIV-AIDS specialty

Andriote began to focus his reporting on the growing HIV-AIDS pandemic while working on a master's degree in journalism at Northwestern University in 1986. His 1999 book Victory Deferred: How AIDS Changed Gay Life in America (University of Chicago Press) was the culmination of his years of reporting on the pandemic. As one of America’s leading writers on the HIV-AIDS pandemic, hundreds of Andriote's recorded interviews with activists, artists, physicians, political leaders, scientists, and others on the epidemic's frontlines, together with his other research materials, are part of the "John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection," curated by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Over the years Andriote expanded the scope of his reporting to include other health and medical subjects, writing for national publications that have ranged from The Atlantic to The Washington Post. 

Translating complex technical subjects into "plain English"

Andriote specializes in ‘translating’ medical and scientific information into ‘plain English’ for non-specialists. Editors consistently praise his solid research and strong writing. Over the years he has served as a communication consultant on HIV-AIDS projects for federal clients within the US Public Health Service and National Institutes of Health. Beginning in August 2021, Andriote has been senior writer for Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, in Atlanta. In his communication role, Andriote regularly interviews medical scientists, clinicians, and patients for consumer-facing articles, blog posts, patient testimonial videos, and web content.

Teaching, writing, and speaking

Andriote has created and taught college courses in communications and journalism, helping aspiring communicators to find their voice and use it strategically. Drawing from his many years of interviewing, observing, and reporting as a health/medical reporter, he has written the "Stonewall Strong" blog on resilience for Psychology Today since the publication of his book Stonewall Strong in 2017.

Health advocacy

Since his own 2005 HIV diagnosis, Andriote has been a champion and advocate for people living with HIV and other chronic health conditions, encouraging others in his articles and talks--and showing how in his own life--to claim, build, and harness their inner resilience.