Andrew Lawler Keynote Speaker

Freelance journalist who has written for National Geographic, Smithsonian, Audubon, and The New York Times
Critically acclaimed author, "Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?" (2014)
Contributing editor, Archaeology Magazine

Andrew Lawler's Biography

Andrew Lawler is an author and journalist whose byline has appeared in major outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, and Smithsonian. He has written more than a thousand newspaper and magazine articles and is a contributing writer for Science and a contributing editor for Archaeology.

His first book, Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?: The Epic Saga of the Bird that Powers Civilization, was published by Simon & Schuster in December 2014. His second book, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, was released by Doubleday in 2018 (and became a national bestseller). He is also the author of Under Jerusalem: The Buried History of the World’s Most Contested City (2021) and A Perfect Frenzy: A Royal Governor, His Black Allies, and the Crisis that Spurred the American Revolution (2025).

During more than thirty years of reporting and writing, Lawler has explored the impact of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars on cultural heritage, probed the origin of cities in the Middle East and Central Asia, followed science policy in the White House and Congress, and covered space programs in the U.S., Russia, China, India, and Japan.

For availability and speaker fees, please contact Andrew Lawler’s speaking agent at Chartwell here, or call +1 972 385 1021 for U.S. inquiries or +44 207 293 0864 for international inquiries.

He brings more than three decades of frontline reporting experience, with bylines in The New York Times, The Washington Post and National Geographic, offering audiences a deeply informed perspective on history, science and global affairs.
He translates complex historical and scientific research into vivid storytelling, revealing how archaeology, geopolitics and cultural heritage shape today’s political and social debates.
As the bestselling author of The Secret Token and other critically acclaimed books, he combines rigorous investigation with narrative flair to challenge conventional wisdom and spark fresh thinking.
He draws on extensive reporting across the Middle East, Central Asia and global space programs to provide geopolitical context that helps leaders understand risk, conflict and international competition.