Joseph Bosco is a widely published nonfiction book author, novelist, poet, editor, screenwriter and journalist whose works have been published in Time, Buzz, Prevailing Winds, Penthouse, and many other newspapers, magazines, journals.

Mr. Bosco has been gainfully employed since his majority variously as: an actor; a roustabout on off-shore drilling rigs; cab driver and "radical poet" in New York City; restaurant and bar manager, often—and owner (twice!); columnist for suburban newspaper in the greater New Orleans area; car salesman; bonded wine consultant; scout for the Chicago Cubs; and managing partner of a successful independent film and video production company in New Orleans, where his responsibilities were writing, producing and directing far too many commercials, and assorted documentaries—but always writing.

Mr. Bosco went totally freelance as an author and journalist in 1984. Consequently, he found himself living in Los Angeles for most of the last decade of the 20th Century when, in the summer of '94, Judge Lance Ito chose him to occupy one of the handful of permanent seats at the Trial of the Century. After what he thought would be a six month assignment turned into a two-year full-time JOB, he decided to stay; he liked the weather. He also enjoyed teaching at the UCLA Writer's Program.

Mr. Bosco ended up being a witness in the O. J. Simpson criminal trial; he had to sit in that infamous blue chair scared out of his mind but thankful that it was only Hank Goldberg cross-examining him in front of some 30 million people! Mr. Bosco also had the distinction of being the only person associated with the case who was dumb enough to jump into the shallow end of Joe McGinniss' rented swimming pool (which came with the rented house in Beverly Hills) and break his neck (the C-1 vertebrae split clean as can be, mind you) and be lottery-winning lucky enough not to miss a minute of court. Most folks will remember him as the guy on the witness stand with this ugly, tortuous brace around his neck and up the backside of his head.

While Mr. Bosco has written across the literary spectrum, he has particular expertise in chronicling criminal justice cases and issues. Having had the privilege of working with the distinguished Dr. Henry Lee over a number of years, he is one of the most forensically-experienced journalists in America. He has also worked with many of the most noted prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys from Los Angeles to New York, and the Deep South. Mr. Bosco has appeared frequently on every major national TV newscast, news talk show, or news tabloid in the industry as an expert criminal trial commentator.

In late August, 2002, Mr. Bosco landed in Xiamen, Fujian, a beautiful semi-tropical island just off the mainland of the People's Republic of China, where he was a Visiting Professor at Xiamen University, one of the Key Universities directly under the Ministry of Education in the amazingly dynamic new China.

Currently he is a Visiting Professor of Journalism at the Beijing Foreign Studies University (known all over China simply as "Beiwai"). Quite tired of the "murder business", Prof. Bosco is now concentrating his writing on his first and truest loves, fiction, and commentary on political and social justice issues. He has two "Mississippi" novels—a prequel to a sequel, or a sequel to a prequel, depending upon their order of publication.

Since being in China, Mr. Bosco has appeared frequently on CCTV International, Channel 9, the English language television channel that is broadcast worldwide. He has been a frequent guest on DIALOGUE, the premiere current affairs talk show in Asia. He was the "Question Master" for the broadcast of the CCTV 2003 CUP National English Speech Contest televised over 4 nights in December 2003. Mr. Bosco was a judge of the CCTV 2006 CUP Finals televised in December 2006.

Quite tired of the "murder business", Mr. Bosco is now concentrating his writing on his first and truest love, fiction; and essays on politics and international affairs. He has two "Mississippi" novels—a prequel to a sequel, or a sequel to a prequel, depending upon their order of publication—almost ready. He also writes and produces his liberal-oriented news, politics and current affairs weblog, The LongBow Papers, daily.

Notable Distinctions & Expertise: The First Amendment.

Mr. Bosco's time on the witness stand in the Simpson case as a journalist protecting the absolute right of confidentiality of sources and unpublished research materials wasn't his first such experience. On November 10,1993, within days of the publication of BLOOD WILL TELL, the Honorable E. V. Richards, 24th District State Court of Louisiana, ruled that, under state statute, book authors were expressly omitted from Louisiana's Reporter's Shield Law (the same omission existed in all of the other state constitutions defining statutorily the implementation of the United States Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of a free press, even in New York, still the heart if not the soul of the publishing industry). Judge Richards then found Mr. Bosco in contempt of court for refusing to testify about or turn over to the Court certain of his research audio-tapes and ordered Mr. Bosco's incarceration in the Jefferson Parish Correctional Facility "until such time" that he "complies with the orders of this court." Thankfully, the Louisiana State Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed execution of the indefinite jail sentence while they had a go at this "res nova" (first impression law) which had doggedly ruled unchallenged in America for over two centuries. Although the issue would traverse on to the State Supreme Court and back to the trial court judge, in the process, the State Court of Appeals came out with a strongly worded, two to one, ruling that writers of book length nonfiction should indeed be considered "reporters." It was a great victory for the First Amendment, a precedent-setting ruling which can now be used by freelancers in every State of the Union.

Nonfiction Books:

A PROBLEM OF EVIDENCE (New York, William Morrow, October,1996), his controversial look at the O.J. Simpson case; optioned for motion picture. BLOOD WILL TELL (New York, William Morrow, October,1993), a three-year literary and forensic investigation into a landmark, baffling, decade-old, "blood case" murder in New Orleans; Main Selection, Book of the Month Club; optioned for motion picture. THE BOYS WHO WOULD BE CUBS: A Season In the Heart of Baseball's Minor Leagues (New York, William Morrow, June,1990); Chicago Tribune Best Seller's List.

Fiction, Novels:

THE SCOTCH AND MARIJUANA PAPERS, Book One: Crazy Sorrows. A work in progress. THE SCOTCH AND MARIJUANA PAPERS, Book Two: A Sunflower for You. A work in progress.

Magazine Credits Include:

TIME, PENTHOUSE, NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, WRITERS DIGEST, BUZZ, PREVAILING WINDS and COAST.

Screenplays:

With his screenwriting partner, Ellen Sander, Mr. Bosco recently completed "Oedipus K" on assignment to Rob Reiner at Castle Rock; "Tokyo Rose," a spec script currently on the market.

Joseph Bosco is a member of PEN, and the WGA. His agent is B.J. Robbins in Los Angeles.

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