Janet Heimlich

Janet Heimlich received a B.A. in Communications from Stanford University in 1984 after which she began a career of producing and writing corporate and commercial film and video presentations in California. In 1996, she moved to Austin and turned her interests toward journalism. For eight years, Ms. Heimlich freelanced as a reporter for National Public Radio and other national radio networks. Working for NPR, she earned a reputation for exposing injustices in the death penalty and prison systems and won nine journalism awards, including the prestigious Katie, given by the Press Club of Dallas; the Houston Press Clubs Radio Journalist of the Year; and the Texas Bar Associations Gavel Award. In addition to her radio work, Ms. Heimlich has written non-fiction articles for such publications as Texas Monthly, the Austin American-Statesman, the Texas Observer, Tribeza, and Edible Austin. Her book Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment (Prometheus Books, 2011) is the first to take an in-depth look at child abuse and neglect caused by religious belief."