Robert Lehrman

As a student at the University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop in the 1960's, Bob Lehrman studied with then-unknown novelist, Kurt Vonnegut. One day Vonnegut told Bob he could have an assistantship but he'd have to teach speech.

"I know nothing about speech," Lehrman said.

"You better learn," Vonnegut said. "It pays 1800 bucks."

Chastened, Lehrman took Vonnegut's advice, stayed a chapter ahead of his students, and when he went into politics, knew how speeches were made.

Since then, this novelist, teacher, journalist, and speechwriter has spent over four decades writing speeches. He served as Chief Speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore and, in 2004, as Chief Speechwriter for the Democratic National Committee. As a speechwriter he has written for political figures, celebrities, actors, heads of nonprofits, and corporate CEOs, including those from Fannie Mae, Texaco, and Pfizer.

He wrote the first edition of The Political Speechwriter's Companion, published in 2009, and collaborated on the second edition with his longtime co-teacher, colleague, and friend, Eric Schnure.

He also teaches the subject. As an adjunct professor, Lehrman has taught speechwriting and public speaking at American University for two decades, as well as at Johns Hopkins and George Washington University.

It was at AU that he created the political speechwriting course he and Professor Schnure teach, which won him AU's 2010 University Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching in an Adjunct Appointment.

Lehrman speaks about speech often at other campuses, conferences, and associations, and appears often on TV. He's lectured and led speechwriting workshops in the U.S. and around the world, including countries like Australia, South Korea, and Vietnam.

With a B.A. from Tufts University, Lehrman also has an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa’s Writers’ Workshop, where he studied with Vonnegut and Richard Yates. He has written on politics for the New York Times, Washington Post, The Hill, CNN.com, and many other publications, including a series of widely read cover stories for the Christian Science Monitor.

In an earlier part of his career, Lehrman published four novels, including the highly praised Defectors (Morrow, 1988), and two award-winning novels for young adults: Juggling, an ALA Best Book for 1982, and The Store That Mama Built, one of three finalists for the National Jewish Book Award for young adults. In 2012 he entered Narrative Magazine's winter short-story contest and won first prize in that widely read literary journal.

Born in New York, Lehrman is married to Congressional Research Service analyst, Dr. Susan Thaul. They have two children, Eric and Michael, both in the film and TV industry in Los Angeles, and two grandchildren, Theo and Miles.

Lehrman ran track and played soccer in high school and college. These days he plays table tennis, where he loses regularly in tournaments--but holds his own against the table tennis robot installed in his garage.