John Temple

Professor John Temple is a veteran investigative journalist whose books shed light on significant issues in American life.

Forthcoming in June 2019, Temple’s book, "Up in Arms: How the Bundy Family Hijacked Public Lands, Outfoxed the Federal Government, and Ignited America’s Patriot Movement," chronicles Cliven and Ammon Bundy’s standoffs with the federal government.

Temple’s last book, "American Pain: How a Young Felon and His Ring of Doctors Unleashed America’s Deadliest Drug Epidemic," was named a New York Post “Favorite Book of 2015” and was a 2016 Edgar Allan Poe Award nominee. "American Pain" documented how two young felons built the largest pill mill in the United States and also traced the roots of the opioid epidemic. Temple has spoken widely about the opioid epidemic to audiences that include addiction counselors, medical professionals, lawyers, and law enforcement.

Temple also wrote "The Last Lawyer: The Fight to Save Death Row Inmates" (2009) and "Deadhouse: Life in a Coroner’s Office" (2005). "The Last Lawyer" won the Scribes Book Award from the American Society of Legal Writers. More information about Temple’s books can be found at www.johntemplebooks.com.

In Fall 2008, Temple founded the “West Virginia Uncovered” project, in which students and faculty provided multimedia training and content for small rural newspapers around the state. The McCormick Foundation, the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and the Ford Foundation provided support for the project.

Prior to teaching at WVU, Temple taught and studied creative nonfiction writing at the University of Pittsburgh, where he earned an M.F.A. Temple worked in the newspaper business for six years. He was the health/education reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, a general assignment reporter for the News & Record in Greensboro, N.C., and a government and politics reporter for the Tampa Tribune in Tampa, Fla.