Meet Josh Weiss | Journalist/Novelist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Josh Weiss and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Josh, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I never planned on becoming a word-based contractor. I sort of fell into the freelance writing business and haven’t looked back since. After graduating college — Philadelphia’s Drexel University — in 2017, I began working for a large, Manhattan-based news corporation, filling out metadata fields for clips that would ultimately go to air. It was, as you might expect, indescribably dull work; work that became even more intolerable once I found myself on the lonely graveyard shift, which ran from around midnight to sunup. To keep myself sane, I used any and all free time to reprise a work of fiction I had started writing as an undergraduate. That project, an expression of my love for the alternate history genre and an ode to my Holocaust survivor grandfather, eventually became my debut novel: 2022’s Beat the Devils. Released by Grand Central Publishing, it was positively reviewed by The New York Times, shortlisted for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History, and even translated into Japanese. A sequel, Sunset Empire (also nominated for the Sidewise), hit shelves in 2023!

While revisiting my novel, I also began a steady tenure in the world of entertainment journalism, which led to regular bylines at Marvel (yes, that Marvel), The Hollywood Reporter, SYFY WIRE (I’ve been a staff writer there for nearly a decade), Forbes, and The Forward. These contractor gigs, which have allowed me to get paid to write about popular culture, are extraordinarily more satisfying than my monotonous, post-college day job, which I decided to quit in order to focus on what I loved. That was seven years ago and I’m still going strong as a freelancer, novelist, and, more recently, producer and co-writer of a documentary centered around John Carpenter’s 1982 sci-fi horror masterpiece — The Thing.

I took an incredible leap of faith by taking the road less traveled, and the destination it led to exceeded my wildest expectations!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a pop culture die-hard who grew up in a proud Jewish household, I am utterly fascinated by the convergence of Judaism and media (i.e. film, television, comics, novels, etc.). I never tire of seeing my heritage represented in mainstream movies and shows like The Vigil, The Fabelmans, Hunters, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — to name a few. The nexus of idiosyncratic Jewish tradition (tradition I simply took for granted most of my life) and contemporary entertainment is a major focal point of my journalistic viewpoint and, of course, the driving factor behind my two published novels, Beat the Devils and Sunset Empire, both of which are told from the perspective of a Holocaust survivor grappling with his faith. Getting the books out into the world was no easy feat. If you’re an aspiring author who doesn’t want to self-publish, you must be prepared for an interminable string of rejections as you seek out a literary agent. Getting turned down again and again isn’t fun by any stretch of the imagination, but it only takes only one person — out of millions — to believe in your work. When Scott called me out of the blue with that long sought after offer of representation, it was as though I were speaking to myself on the other end of the line. So yeah, it’s rather cliche, but it bears repeating: keep pushing, keep hustling, and never give up. Someone, somewhere will eventually take notice.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My wife and I reside in Philly (along with our adorably mischievous Cavapoo, Archie), and there’s really no shortage of things to do here — whether it’s perusing the myriad food stalls at Reading Terminal Market, strolling along Schuylkill River Trail, or visiting the city’s plethora of historical landmarks. As an amateur cook and experienced eater, though, I love discovering new restaurants, and we’ve got some of the best places to chow down in the country.

Here’s my recommendation for the perfect day of eating across the City of Brotherly Love: start off with a massive breakfast sandwich from Small Oven Pastry Shop & Porco’s Porchetteria on Washington Avenue (their truffle goat cheese will change your life); for lunch, order the birria tacos at Loco Pez in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood (the shredded brisket and consommé go great with a dash of El Yucateco’s bright-green habanero hot sauce); and close out the day with cocktails and dry-aged steaks served up at Alpen Rose on South 13th Street (the speakeasy vibes are immaculate and the insanely flavorful beef is even better).

You can thank me later…

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Credit where credit is due. I would not be where I am today without the participation of several very important people. First up is my college fraternity brother, Peter Fox, an accomplished writer and journalist in his own right, who put me in touch with Seth Abramovitch at The Hollywood Reporter. In turn, Seth placed me on the radar of THR film editor, Aaron Couch, who graciously took me on as a contributing member of the outlet’s Heat Vision blog. A few months later, Aaron recommended me to erstwhile SYFY WIRE editor, Alexis Loinaz, who made me part of the site’s regular writing team. He and his successor, Trent Moore, are the best superiors — and friends — I’ve ever had in my professional life. Lastly, I must recognize my literary agent, Scott Miller of Trident Media Group, who championed my debut novel when no one else would, as well as CreatorVC founder Robin Block, who saw my potential as a maker of movies.

Website: https://joshuahweiss.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshuahweiss/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-weiss-47aa4090/

Twitter: https://x.com/JoshuaHWeiss

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jdawg72494/

Other: https://www.creatorvc.com/thethingexpanded

https://www.syfy.com/authors/josh-weiss

https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshweiss/

Image Credits
Personal photo: David Dahan

Book signing: Strand Bookstore

Book covers (English): Grand Central Publishing

Book cover (Japanese): Hayakawa Publishing

Article screen-grabs: The Hollywood Reporter & SYFY WIRE

Studio shot: Oktay Ortabasi

*Feel free to crop/augment any photos as necessary*