Author

Mimi Swartz

Mimi Swartz's Profile Photo

Mimi Swartz, the author, with Sherron Watkins, of Power Failure, The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron, is an executive editor of Texas Monthly. Previously, she was a staff writer at Talk, from April 1999 to April 2001, and a staff writer at the New Yorker from 1997 to 2001. Prior to joining the New Yorker, she worked at Texas Monthly for thirteen years. In 1996 Swartz was a finalist for two National Magazine Awards and won in the public interest category for “Not What the Doctor Ordered.” She was also a National Magazine Award finalist for her November 2005 issue story on tort reform, titled “Hurt? Injured? Need a Lawyer? Too Bad!” and won the 2006 John Bartlow Martin Award for Public Interest, Magazine Journalism, for the same story. In 2013 she won her second National Magazine Award (again in the category of public interest), for “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives,” a compelling look at the state of women's health care in Texas. 

Over the years, Swartz’s work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, Slate, National Geographic, and the New York Times’ op-ed page and Sunday magazine. It has also been collected in Best American Political Writing 2006 and Best American Sportswriting 2007. She has been a member of the Texas Institute of Letters since 1994. Swartz grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Hampshire College, in Amherst, Massachusetts. She now lives in Houston with her husband, John Wilburn, and son, Sam.
Being Texan |
March 1, 1997

Green Eggs and Kao

I thought I’d teach my young son’s Laotian friend about all the essentials of American culture, including Dr. Seuss. I just never imagined how much he’d teach me.

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True Crime |
February 1, 1997

Brenham’s Paradise Lost

An idyllic small town confronts a controversial rape case involving four high school boys and a thirteen-year-old girl and discovers that nothing is certain—except that its children can’t escape the big-city culture of teenage sex.

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News & Politics |
November 1, 1996

It Came From Outer Space

The inside story of how industrious NASA scientists discovered signs of life in a Martian rock and boosted the fortunes of the tabloids, Hollywood producers, and even the president.

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Steve Stockman
Politics & Policy |
February 1, 1996

Congressman Clueless

Steve Stockman was supposed to have been a lethal weapon in the Republicans’ fight to unmake the Great Society. Instead the freshman legislator has been a loose cannon—an outsider in his own party.

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Business |
August 6, 1995

Silicone City

From invention to litigation, the breast implant has done more for Houston’s economy—and its psyche—than anything since oil.

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Lifestyle |
June 30, 1995

Sand Dollars

Gigantic homes. Gala parties. Nonstop schmoozing. The hip summer playground of Houston’s high society is … Galveston?

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Film & TV |
September 30, 1993

The Fugitive

Stardom has caught up with Tommy Lee Jones—finally. But don’t expect him to act like he’s enjoying it.

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Reporter |
August 31, 1993

Kid Heaven

One boy’s excellent adventure at the new playground of the nineties.

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Shopping |
July 31, 1993

The Buying Game

Ikea appeals to twentysomethings who are beyond bricks and boards but not yet ready for a lifetime furniture commitment.

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Art |
January 1, 1993

Shooting Stars

With wit and grit, Amarillo-born photographer Mark Seliger persuades reluctant celebrities to show their true selves.

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Family |
December 1, 1992

Growing Pains

When the young daughter of a friend walked sooner than my son, my feminist politics collided with my loyalties as a mom.

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Shopping |
September 30, 1991

Born Again

Like Houston, the Galleria was hit hard by the bust. Now savvy marketing and a face lift have brought back its glamour.

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Lifestyle |
August 31, 1990

Call Me

My phone habit saps my energy and drains my wallet. But wait—there’s my other line. Can you hold?

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True Crime |
August 31, 1988

A Legacy of Evil

In the town George Parr once dominated, a nineteen-year-old mother was gang-raped by her neighbors. In the aftermath of the crime, the old horrors of San Diego have surfaced anew.

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Family |
February 1, 1988

Flying Solo

With a mother in one city and a father in another, Audrey Reynolds took to the air.

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