Tal McThenia is the co-author of A Case for Solomon: Bobby Dunbar and the Kidnapping that Haunted A Nation (Free Press, 2012), a critically-acclaimed historical non-fiction account of a notorious case of kidnapping and contested identity that divided the American south in the early 20th century.  A Case for Solomon won the Louisiana Literary Award and was named one of the New Orleans Times-Picayune’s “Top 10 New Orleans/Louisiana Books of 2012.”

Prior to A Case for Solomon, Tal wrote and reported a one-hour radio documentary on the same subject, “The Ghost of Bobby Dunbar,” for the public radio series This American Life, which first aired in March 2008.  As a screenwriter, he wrote the script for Shift, a public television drama that premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, and has aired on PBS stations nationwide. Tal also writes children's animated science mysteries for Mosa Mack Science. His writing has appeared in VanityFair.com, American Express Departures, Bloomberg Businessweek, Popula, and Atlas Obscura, among other venues.

Tal grew up in rural Rockbridge County, Virginia. He lives in New York City and upstate New York with his boyfriend Brett Berk.