Conor Knighton
Emmy-winning correspondent for CBS Sunday Morning and New York Times-bestselling author
Isaac Fitzgerald
Author of Dirtbag, Massachusetts and American Rambler
“To live in America is to live inside a legend.”
Photo credit: Nader Farzan
Isaac Fitzgerald is a New York Times-bestselling author, occasional morning television persona (The Today Show), and a captivating storyteller. In his book American Rambler, he sets out on a year-long journey, exploring the enduring spirit of the United States through the lens of the legendary Johnny Appleseed. A dynamic presence onstage, Fitzgerald’s programs weave together humor and raw honesty to address themes of resilience and community, loss and grief, wonder and faith, and the myths that have shaped American life.
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About Isaac Fitzgerald
New York Times bestselling author Isaac Fitzgerald is a beloved literary voice and dynamic media personality. Known for his acclaimed memoir Dirtbag, Massachusetts, winner of the New England Book Award, Fitzgerald’s work blends his signature grit, vulnerability, and humor. His latest book, American Rambler, retraces his trek to the heart of America and back. An inspirational and entertaining speaker, Fitzgerald connects deeply with audiences through storytelling and community.
In American Rambler, Fitzgerald recounts his epic, year-long journey retracing Johnny Appleseed’s route across the United States from Massachusetts to Indiana. The trek, inspired by Fitzgerald’s childhood curiosity, deepened into a reckoning with loss, grief, ritual, and faith, while facing both the harsh realities and unexpected kindnesses of life on the road. Blending memoir, history, and travelogue, American Rambler is equally a tribute to the American heartland, and an examination of the myths that lie at the center of American history and identity.
A seasoned speaker and moderator, Fitzgerald captivates audiences at his inspirational and heartfelt events. Drawing from his own atypical path to becoming a writer, as well as his New York Times-bestselling written works, Fitzgerald speaks on resilience, community-building, American history, the power of storytelling, and more.
Fitzgerald is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, Dirtbag, Massachusetts, a memoir-in-essays that chronicles his unconventional life experiences and journey toward forgiveness, identity, and connection. Dirtbag, Massachusetts was the winner of the New England Book Award for Nonfiction, winner of the New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Nonfiction Book of the Year, a TIME Must-Read Book of the Year, A Goodreads Readers’ Most Anticipated Book, and more. Fitzgerald is also the author of the bestselling children’s book How to Be a Pirate, and co-author of both Pen & Ink: Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them, and Knives & Ink: Chefs and the Stories Behind Their Tattoos (an IACP award winner).
Fitzgerald is a frequent guest on The Today Show, and his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Esquire, GQ, The Guardian, and more. He now resides in and travels from New York.
Contact us for more information about booking Isaac Fitzgerald for your next event.
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Speaking Topics
A Trek Into the Heart of America & Back
In a program based on his book American Rambler, Fitzgerald shares the legend-ized story of John Chapman—a real person!—and Fitzgerald’s own year-long quest to follow Johnny Appleseed’s path on foot, an epic journey that would take him far from home and closer to himself. From the iconic American legend, Fitzgerald draws parallels to his own life story to reckon with loss and grief, ritual and faith, and walking (“moving at human scale”) as an antidote to the breakneck pace of modern life.
How to Be Curious About Other People
Over his wide-ranging career and many adventures, Fitzgerald has learned the art of forging authentic connections with strangers. Both entertaining and inspiring, Fitzgerald shares how to navigate social barriers and build authentic connections—transforming small talk into meaningful dialogue and making the world feel a little more human.
Becoming a Writer: An Untraditional Path
Fitzgerald has been a firefighter, worked on a boat, and was once given a sword by a king (thus achieving two of his three childhood dreams). On top of that, he has worked almost every other job under the sun. So how did he go from washing dishes in a San Francisco biker bar to being a New York Times bestselling author? In this lecture, he lays out his story.
How to Be a Pirate
For audiences of all ages, Fitzgerald shares some of the stories behind his children’s book, How to Be a Pirate, teaching that being a pirate means being brave, quick, independent, and fun, and that the most important thing is to believe in yourself.
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Praise for Isaac Fitzgerald
Praise for American Rambler
I’m a huge Johnny Appleseed devotee—so for that (and for many other reasons) I loved this book. It felt like hanging out with a friend. A friend I’d always wished I’d had, but never actually met until these pages. It’s not really like any book I’ve ever read. It meanders and breaks rules—and it works. I’m going for a walk.
— Ethan HawkeRollicking, heartfelt. . . . Made me feel the kind of wonder and hope I’ve been longing for.
— John Green, author of Everything Is TuberculosisIt takes a wild man to capture this wild land, and Fitzgerald is on the case. This time around, he brings his immeasurable charm and irrepressible humanism to bear on a genuine American legend, with fantastic results.
— Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground RailroadAn immersive walk through our country’s forgotten history. Fitzgerald carves out a trail through his own past as he explores the landscapes and lives that shaped a nation.
— Tara Westover, author of Educated -
Books by Isaac Fitzgerald
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Media About Isaac Fitzgerald
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and Availability
- 212 572-2013
- Isaac Fitzgerald travels from Long Island, NY
Featured Title
American Rambler
May 12, 2026
“It takes a wild man to capture this wild land, and Fitzgerald is on the case. This time around, he brings his immeasurable charm and irrepressible humanism to bear on a genuine American legend, with fantastic results.”
— Colson Whitehead, author of The Underground Railroad
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