As author, writer, editor, consultant, and media personality, Norman Kolpas has been a leading force in the world of lifestyle-related media for more than 25 years.

An honors graduate of Yale University, Kolpas has been editorially and strategically involved with some of the leading brands in the food world:

• With Time-Life Books, he was part of the founding editorial staff of the legendary series "The Good Cook," working as writer or editor on 14 volumes in collaboration with world-renowned food luminaries Richard Olney and Jeremiah Tower.
• For Cuisinart, he was managing editor of "The Pleasures of Cooking" magazine, working directly with Cuisinart inventor Carl Sontheimer and consulting editor Jacques Pepin.
• As editor of The Knapp Press in Los Angeles-book division of Knapp Communications, then-publishers of "Bon Appetit," "Architectural Digest," and "Home" magazines-Kolpas directed an editorial staff in the creation of books under the brands of those illustrious magazines.
• As consulting editor to book packagers Weldon Owen Publishing in San Francisco, he led creative development of Williams-Sonoma's publishing program, working directly on more than 100 different books that have sold close to 20 million copies, and personally ghost-writing on behalf of company founder Chuck Williams. He also spearheaded editorial development for books from the Culinary Institute of America, the American Heart Association, the Mayo Clinic, Starbucks, Post-It Notes, actress/fitness-guru Jane Fonda, and other clients.
• From 2001 through 2003, he worked as Senior Vice President of Media Content for Wolfgang Puck Worldwide, Inc., the company that controls branded activities for the famous chef, collaborating directly with Puck on development of his Food Network TV shows, books, and website, as well as conceiving, creating, and ghost-writing a weekly syndicated column launched in March 2003 by Tribune Media Services and now in close to 30 newspapers with combined circulation of approaching 10 million. Kolpas continues to ghost-write the weekly newspaper column for Wolfgang Puck.

Kolpas is also an award-winning journalist and author in his own right. He has contributed hundreds of feature articles and columns on a wide range of topics-including dining, cooking, travel, architecture, design, art, celebrities, and the Old West-to leading magazines including "Bon Appetit," "Home," "Audio-Video Interiors," "Southwest Art," "Western Styles," "Cowboys & Indians," and "Sunset."

He has published over 40 cookbooks with close to a million copies in print, including "Pasta Presto," "Pasta Light," "Pizza California Style," and "The Quick Grill Artist." "Southwest the Beautiful Cookbook," for which he wrote the narrative text, was a 1994 nominee for Best American Cookbook in the Julia Child Cookbook Awards. "Celebrating the Pleasures of Cooking," which he ghosted for Williams-Sonoma founder Chuck Williams, won Best Cookbook of 1997 from the International Cookbook Revue. His latest books in the "Practically Useless Information™" series, "Weddings" and "Food & Drink," were published in spring 2005. Kolpas also wrote Cocktails: Style Recipes, a book exclusively created for Pottery Barn, to be published in Fall 2005.

Kolpas has received a wealth of media experience, having made dozens of guest appearances on TV and radio cooking and news programs nationwide. He is also a popular writing teacher, having regularly presented courses for almost 16 years on cookbook publishing and nonfiction article writing through The Writers Program at UCLA.