Meet the Artist: Julian Rubinstein

Rubinstein is an award-winning journalist, educator, filmmaker, and author. He spent seven years reporting his most recent non-fiction book The Holly: Five Bullets, One Gun and the Struggle to Save an American Neighborhood, which was published in 2021 by FSG. The book was named a New York Times Editors’ Choice and is the winner of the 2022 Colorado Book Award for general nonfiction and the 2022 High Plains Book Award for creative nonfiction. While reporting the book, he began filming what became THE HOLLY, his first documentary feature film. The film is the winner of the Audience Choice Award at the 2022 Telluride Mountainfilm festival and the Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2022 Santa Fe International Film Festival. Rubinstein’s first book, Ballad of the Whiskey Robber, was also an Editors’ Choice pick of the New York Times and the winner of the 2005 Borders “Original Voices” Nonfiction Book of the Year, as well as a finalist for the 2005 Edgar Allan Poe award for Best Fact Crime book. Film rights to Ballad of the Whiskey Robber were purchased by Johnny Depp. Julian’s feature writing has appeared in the New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, and others and has been honored by Best American Crime Writing, Best American Essays, Best American Science and Nature Writing and twice by Best American Sports Writing. He has worked with at-risk youth for Groundwork Brooklyn and Friends For Youth in Denver. He grew up in Denver and moved back in 2014 to begin reporting and filming THE HOLLY. He spent two years as Visiting Professor of Documentary Journalism at University of Denver and is currently Visiting Filmmaker and Lecturer at Western Colorado University.