Joseph Sanders Pearson (born 1975 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian essayist and writer.
Life Between 1997 and 2001, Pearson received his doctorate in Modern History at the University of Cambridge. Pearson has taught in the humanities at Columbia University,Slow Travel Author Biography Retrieved 5 July 2018 New York University,Joseph Pearson lectures at NYU the Berlin University of the Arts, and the Barenboim–Said Akademie, a peace project headed by conductor Daniel Barenboim. He is the nephew of children's novelist Kit Pearson.
Career His history and portrait of the German capital, Berlin, was published by Reaktion Press and University of Chicago Press in 2017. The Independent called Berlin "the last word in explaining not only Berlin’s incredible history, but also its present day cultural situation" and Bloomberg reported that the book "masterfully offers a close reading of the metropolis in all its brutal immediacy". The book was also positively reviewed in The German Studies Review.Mirko M. Hall, "Berlin Calling: A Story of Anarchy, Music, the Wall, and the Birth of the New Berlin by Paul Hockenos, and: Cityscopes: Berlin by Joseph Pearson", vol. 41, no. 2 (2018), German Studies Review Retrieved 21 November 2018
Pearson's second book My Grandfather's Knife was published by HarperCollins and The History Press in April 2022, with a Spanish translation by Planeta in October 2022. The book tells the stories of Second World War witnesses through everyday objects they owned."The History Press lands 'enthralling account' of hidden war stories from Pearson" in The Bookseller Retrieved 14 November 2021 The book received positive reviews in The Spectator,Matthew Reisz, "The History of Nazism in Small Objects" in The Spectator Retrieved 8 May 2023 the Literary Review of CanadaMarlo Alexandra Burks, "Reverberations: The Language of Silent Things" in Literary Review of Canada Retrieved 8 May 2023 and elsewhere, with Norman Ohler, author of Blitzed, calling the book, "literary non-fiction at its best".Norman Ohler on My Grandfather's Knife, HarperCollins book webpage Retrieved 8 May 2023 A chapter from the book, regarding Nazi plunder of string instruments obtained by the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda, appeared in German in the literary review Lettre International.Joseph Pearson, "Ein Saiteninstrument" in Lettre International 138, Autumn 2022 Retrieved 8 May 2023
His third book (2025), The Airlift, is an everyday history of the Berlin Airlift, published with The History Press in the UK, and Pegasus Books in North America (under the separate title, Sweet Victory).Simon and Schuster book webpage Retrieved 21 March 2025 Lettre International published a chapter in German in their Summer 2025 edition. Kirkus Reviews called it 'the dawn of the Cold War through a gimlet eye' and Publishers' Weekly 'an illuminating, up-close look at the Berlin Airlift...[that] adds complexity to a major historical turning point'.Kirkus Reviews Retrieved 12 November 2025 and Publishers' Weekly In a Times Literary Supplement review of The Airlift and Ian Buruma's Stay Alive, Rebecca K. Morrison praised The Airlift for its "meticulous research" and "undeniable relevance", calling it "an excellent contribution to the Berlin bookshelf in time of war" and describing Pearson as "a lively writer, alert to detail".
His fourth book is a portrait of the German theatremaker, Thomas Ostermeier. Wer Da? Begegnungen mit Thomas Ostermeier was published in German in 2026 by the Alexander Verlag and is based on essays Pearson wrote as in-house essayist of the Schaubühne Theatre.Alexander Verlag, 2026. Retrieved on 30 May 2026
Pearson's work has otherwise appeared in The Guardian,"Playing dirty used to be the west’s preserve. Now we’re letting Moscow beat us at our own game", The Guardian (4 November 2025) Retrieved 12 November 2025 New England Review,"Three German Cities", New England Review Retrieved 5 July 2018 AGNI,AGNI authors Retrieved 5 July 2018 Monocle Magazine,"Habsburg Hipsters and the Future of Europe", Monocle Forecast (2016) Retrieved 5 July 2018 Prism International,Prism International Portraits of prize winners Retrieved 2 Feb 2021 Geist, Newsweek, the BBC, and other publications. His non-fiction has been translated into German, French, Arabic, Mandarin and other languages.The Needle, About the Author Retrieved 5 July 2018
Pearson is based in Berlin, Germany, where he is the in-house essayist of the Schaubühne TheatrePearson's Preview, Schaubühne Theatre Retrieved 5 July 2018 and the editor of The Needle,The Needle Berlin: About the Editor Retrieved 5 July 2018 one of Berlin's most popular blogs.Berlin's Best Blogs Retrieved 5 July 2018 He is a founding member of the artist collective, 'AGOSTO'.AGOSTO / artist collective website Retrieved 12 January 2021
Publications Berlin. Reaktion Books, London 2017, My Grandfather's Knife. The History Press, Stroud 2022 / HarperCollins, Toronto 2022, Sweet Victory: How the Berlin Airlift Divided East and West / The Airlift. The History Press, Stroud 2025 / Pegasus Books, New York 2025, Wer Da? Begegnungen mit Thomas Ostermeier. Alexander Verlag, Berlin 2026.
Awards In 2020, he was awarded a Jacob Zilber Prize for Short Fiction (First Runner-up), for his story "An Iconostasis".PRISM International literary magazine webpage Retrieved 19 April 2020 The story was nominated in 2020 for the Pushcart Prize.Author's webpage Retrieved 7 January 2021
References
External links Official website