American journalist Michael Finkel made his home in Park City three years ago during the summer of 2021, and he couldn’t be happier with the choice. It was an ideal setting to finish his latest book, The Art Thief, released last summer.
“I never call myself a writer,” Finkel humbly says. “I call myself a journalist.” Despite not identifying as a writer, Finkel has penned four published books: Alpine Circus, True Story, The Stranger in the Woods and The Art Thief. At the age of 55, he has been a journalist for 40 years, getting his start writing for both his high school and college newspapers.
When he graduated from University of Pennsylvania, his first job was with Skiing magazine. As an associate editor, Finkel was given a pair of skis and sent around the world. “It was a small staff and everyone got to do a lot,” he says fondly. Throughout his 20s, the accumulation of so many ski excursions led him to chronicle 17 of these adventures in his first book, Alpine Circus.
When asked if he is a good skier, he states, “No one is putting me in any ski movies, but I love to watch great people ski.”
After being dismissed from The New York Times for cobbling together several quotes to create one individual, Finkel found himself as both the storyteller and the main character of his next book. Titled True Story, the tale told is truly stranger than fiction. On the same day as his termination was made public, Finkel learned that a man on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list had been arrested in Mexico, using the alias Michael Finkel and claiming to be a writer for The New York Times. The book was made into a movie by the same name that starred James Franco, Jonah Hill and Felicity Jones and premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
His next book, The Stranger in the Woods, was on The New York Times Best Sellers list for five weeks. Like in his previous work, the main character opened up to Finkel in a way few others could accomplish. With persistence, Finkel got the hermit to break his 27-year silence, allowing readers to contemplate their own existence and relationship with solitude.
For his most recent tome, The Art Thief, Finkel found his final surge of creative inspiration in Park City. “I wrote every word of the final draft of The Art Thief from a small studio above O.P. Rockwell. I must have pulled at least 50 all-nighters,” he says.
Soon after relocating to Park City from southern France, Finkel stumbled upon the optimal location to finish his tale. “I was just wandering up and down Main Street and popped in and had a brief conversation with the owner, and he was like, ‘I have the perfect thing for you,’” recalls Finkel.
The room used to be a podcast studio and has one small window facing the alley, ideal for Finkel to write without distractions. Per Finkel’s insistence, publication day for The Art Thief was held at Dolly’s Bookstore, just 200 yards from where he finished the book. “I probably wore a groove in the sidewalk between my office and Dolly’s,” he declares.
Finkel’s dedication to storytelling is evident not only in his published works but also in his relentless pursuit of the essence of each story. As he continues to integrate his life with the narrative of Park City, it’s clear that Finkel has found Park City to be a haven for his creative spirit.
Michael Finkel’s Park City Picks
Best Park City attribute: What I love about Park City is that as a newcomer, it’s almost expected that you will get involved and give back. It is assumed that you move to Park City and you give back either by volunteering or, if you have some money, you give it. This town punches way above its weight when it comes to involvement and philanthropy.
Favorite nonprofit: I love the Live PC Give PC event. My wife, Jill, and I also love the Kimball Arts Festival, the Egyptian Theatre and, of course, the Sundance Film Festival. My kids are even volunteers for the National Ability Center, Christian Center of Park City Thrift Store and Save Our Great Salt Lake.
Park City writer’s routine: It’s too daunting to run a marathon or write a book; you have to run one mile and do it many times. For writing, you write one page at a time and do it 300 times … with a few long strolls down Main Street in between.
Summer bucket list: I can’t believe that I get to live here. I love the mountain air. On a sunny day, I can’t get anything done because I just want to be outside. During the summer, I’m addicted to mountain biking and hiking and love to go camping with my kids.
Dine about: The newly opened Big Dipper on upper Main Street has amazing sandwiches that kept me fed and happy while I wrote The Art Thief. I highly recommend the Hot Tejana. One of my other go-to spots is Cafe Terigo, also on Main Street.
Loves most about Park City: This town is so welcoming. It was like instant community integration. I have three children. When we moved here, they were at hard ages (15, 13, 11) and did not want to move. But now they love it.
