"I dare you to stop reading a John Glionna story. I know I couldn’t. Every time I hop on board a Glionna story I know I am in for a smart, informative and highly entertaining ride. It’s impossible not to take the journey to the end. His work is a real treat!"

— Michael Connelly, New York Times best-selling author of crime fiction

“John Michael Glionna may well be the best non-fiction writer in America. His eye for the off-beat and unique coupled with an innate musical ear for language makes Glionna’s writing instantly recognizable and infused with the promise of strange revelation and adventure. I defy anyone to start one of his meticulously-researched stories and not race to the finish. The man is that good."

— Mark T. Sullivan, bestselling author of “Beneath a Scarlet Sky”

“Sometimes John Glionna takes you to places you’ve never been. Sometimes he’s in places you know well, mining them for illuminating details you never noticed. His deep reporting and lucid explanatory writing evokes the McPhee school, but he tends to sprinkle his meat and potatoes with a kind of cosmic Flamin’ Hot Cheeto dust from the crinkled bag of his subconscious. Enjoy the burn. And wash hands thoroughly after contact."

— Richard Fausset, New York Times Atlanta Bureau Chief

“With his convincing ability to portray one quirky character after the next, I like to think of John Glionna as the Johnny Depp of Journalism — only without the IRS issues."

— Dave Wolthoff, Hollywood filmmaker, producer of movie “Concussion”

"A John Glionna byline is a guarantee for an uncommon kind of journalism. You don't just read a Glionna story. You feel it."

— Scott Harris, freelance writer and former Los Angeles Times columnist

"My Dad always said ‘Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.’ I would never call Glionna angelic. But he’s never written a story without a laugh or a wink that allows it to soar. There’s always the magic combination of sweet and salty. Laughs and tears."

— Diana Marcum, author of “the Tenth Island,” Los Angeles Times journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner

"Reading the stories of John M. Glionna is riding shotgun in a dusty muscle car through desert towns, foreign outposts and Lynchian slices of modern America. He takes us where the most human of humans live through triumphs and tragedies and everything in between, the spots where light and darkness are often indistinguishable. A Glionna dispatch is a journey into the unknown with a fearless writer whose bottomless curiosity and insight illuminate street-level, hidden-in-plain-sight tales of mystery and wonder."

— Ed Komenda, USA Today Las Vegas Bureau Chief

"There are writers, especially newspaper writers, who are formed from a certain mold. Then there are those rare, talented few who break that mold. And then there's John Glionna. With an eye that sees what no one else is even aware of, he's captivated readers with unlikely tales including of a phone booth still operating in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Or his insane stroll where no one else dared to tread after a nuclear meltdown in radioactive Fukushima, Japan. Or going whack-about with Australian bush boxers in the deep outback. No doubt more than a bit nuts and beyond question one of the nicest guys you'll ever encounter."

— Bruce Mcleod, former Los Angeles Times night foreign editor

"Pulitzer prize winning poet-playwright Edna St. Vincent Millay once said, 'A person who writes...willfully appears before the populace with his pants down.' That's John Glionna. No bullshit. No cover. Just naked observation translated into the right words. Read him and you'll see what I mean."

— Ardith Hilliard, former Los Angles Times editor and book editor

"John Glionna is a kind of Ernie Pyle of modern America— parachuting into stories fearlessly, writing what he sees, and letting the chips fall where they may. Like an old wire service reporter."

— Tom Morphet, former publisher of the Chilkat Valley News in Haines, Alaska

"When I think of John Glionna and his work, two things stand out: his knack for mining unique and interesting story ideas and his ability to report and write them in a detailed, literary manner. Though largely objective, his stories are always emotional. Over the past several years, Glionna has proven to be one of the best feature writers working in the American West."

— Matthew O’Brien, author of “Beneath the Neon”

"Some writers have a gift for finding a story. Others have a gift for writing it. John Glionna has both. He’s like a duck gliding serenely on the water; he may be furiously underneath the surface, but he makes it look easy.”

— Kari Howard, former editor at the Los Angeles Times

"A long, long time ago, John came to me to ask for some time off, problematic to the city desk schedule. He will remember that in our negotiations, I solemnly told him: “John, the world does not revolve around you. It revolves around The Kansas City Star.” Now, though, I’m not so sure he wasn’t right. Although I’ve been a half continent away, I’ve been aware of some his travels and have been impressed by the energy of this refuse-to-get-old fart. Covered a lot of ground, he has. His interests range wide and his empathy runs deep. He is a man of stories. And I need to soon have a beer with him and hear a few fresh ones."

— Darryl Levings, former city and national editor for The Kansas City Star

"Glionna's stories are the work of a craftsman at the top of his game."

— Mike Anton, former journalist for the Los Angeles Times

"Whether he's writing about cantinas, casinos or cannabis clubs, Glionna's one of the great chroniclers of the contemporary American West, an ink-stained wretch amid the sagebrush and shopping outlets."

— Patrick Jospeh, Editor-in-Chief, California Magazine, UC Berkeley

"John Glionna is a great reporter and an exceptional storyteller. He has the unique ability to persuade people to divulge their innermost secrets. He simply won’t come back alive without the real story."

— Rick Barrs, former editor at the Los Angeles Times and at LA and Phoenix New Times

"Kind, compassionate, and funny. That's how I describe John Glionna. It has been a privilege to work with John on a number of occasions, but working with him on the story about Dolores Westfall, a 79 year old woman driving cross-country looking for work was a gift. His story “Too Poor To Retire And Too Young To Die,” changed Dolores’ life. She was overwhelmed by reader reaction. People volunteered to help. Some donated. Others offered her jobs and housing. At the end of Dolores’ life John brought her peace through friendship and through his exceptional writing. Dolores knew she was not alone."

— Francine Orr, staff photographer, Los Angeles Times

"John Glionna makes it real. Prepare to be be swept away, carried off to a place you’ve never seen or an experience you’ve never felt. He has the gift of making you believe you’re there, seeing it and feeling it with him. Get ready to enjoy the ride!"

— Dierdre Wolownick, author of “the Sharp End of Life: A Mother’s Story”

"John Glionna is a shoe leather reporter who writes like an angel. Give him a single city block and he will find a dozen new stories before the day is out. I read everything with his byline on it because I'm guaranteed to learn something."

— Tom Zoellner, author of New York times best-selling book “An Ordinary Man”

"John Glionna can make a story sing, tap-dance, and recite "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" backwards. Whether he's traipsing into a blazing California forest with weary firefighters or waltzing around the Australian outback with itinerant pugilists, he tells a tale that's warm, engaging, and true."

— Steve Chawkins, former Los Angeles Times reporter and obituary writer

"The Las Vegas Review-Journal nominated a series of John's feature stories for a Pulitzer Prize. He has few peers as a writer and reporter, but what really sets his work apart is his gift for finding incredibly compelling stories in places few journalists are willing to look."

— Glenn Cook, executive editor, vice president-news, Las Vegas Review-Journal