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Sam Quinones

Sam Quinones

Keynote Speaker: Journalist & Author of "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic"

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    Live Event Fee: $10,000 - $20,000
    Virtual Event Fee: Below $10,000
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Sam Quinones Biography

Sam Quinones (pronounced Kin-YOH-Ness) is a Los Angeles-based freelance journalist, a reporter for 35 years, and author of four acclaimed books of narrative nonfiction. He is a veteran reporter on immigration, gangs, drug trafficking, the border.

He is formerly a reporter with the L.A. Times, where he worked for 10 years. Before that, he made a living as a freelance writer residing in Mexico for a decade (1994-2004).

His latest book, released in November, 2021, is "The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth."

In "The Least of Us," Quinones chronicles the emergence of a drug-trafficking world producing massive supplies of synthetic drugs (fentanyl and meth) cheaper and deadlier than ever, marketing to the population of addicts created by the nation's opioid epidemic, as the backdrop to tales of Americans’ quiet attempts to recover community through simple acts of helping the vulnerable.

With "The Least of Us," Quinones broke the story of how the methamphetamine now produced in Mexico has covered the U.S. and is creating widespread and rapid-onset symptoms of schizophrenia, becoming in the process a major driver in the country’s the homeless problem.

In January 2022, "The Least of Us" was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) award for Best Nonfiction Book of 2021.

"The Least of Us" follows his landmark "Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic" (Bloomsbury, 2015), which ignited awareness of the epidemic that has cost the United States hundreds of thousands of lives and become deadliest drug scourge in the nation’s history.

"Dreamland" won a National Book Critics Circle award for the Best Nonfiction Book of 2015. It was also selected as one of the Best Books of 2015 by Amazon.com, the Daily Beast, Buzzfeed, Seattle Times, Boston Globe, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Entertainment Weekly, Audible, and in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Business by Nobel economics laureate, Prof. Angus Deaton, of Princeton University.

In 2021, GQ Magazine selected "Dreamland" as one of the “50 Best Books of Literary Journalism of the 21st Century”

"Dreamland" was selected as one the Best 10 True-Crime Books of all time based on lists, surveys, and ratings of more than 90 million Goodread.com readers. In 2019, Slate.com selected Dreamland as one of the 50 best nonfiction books of the last 25 years.

For "Dreamland," Quinones has testified before the U.S. Senate’s Health Committee, numerous professional conferences of judges, doctors, librarians, hospital administrators and at more than two-dozen town hall meetings in small towns across the country.

A Young Adult version of "Dreamland" – for 7th through 12th graders -- was released in July of 2019.

His first two books grew from his 10 years living and working as a freelance writer in Mexico (1994-2004).

"True Tales From Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino and the Bronx" was released in 2001. It is a cult classic of a book from Mexico’s vital margins – stories of drag queens and Oaxacan Indian basketball players, popsicle makers and telenovela stars, migrants, farm workers, a narcosaint, a slain drug balladeer, a slum boss, and a doomed tough guy.

In 2007, he came out with "Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration." In it, Quinones narrates the saga of the Henry Ford of Velvet Painting, and of how an opera scene emerged in Tijuana, and how a Zacatecan taco empire formed in Chicago. He tells the tale of the Tomato King, of a high-school soccer season in Kansas, and of Mexican corruption in a small L.A. County town. Threading through the book are three tales of Delfino Juarez, a modern Mexican Huck Finn. Quinones ends the collection in a chapter called "Leaving Mexico" with his harrowing tangle with the Narco-Mennonites of Chihuahua.

Dagoberto Gilb, reviewing "Antonio’s Gun" in the San Francisco Chronicle, called him “the most original writer on Mexico and the border.”

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Sam Quinones and other top speakers and celebrities.

Sam Quinones Speaking Topics

DREAMLAND: America's Opiate Epidemic and How We Got Here

Sam Quinones Videos

Sam Quinones, Journalist and Social Issues Speaker
Sam Quinones: America's Opiate Addiction
#YOULIVE 168 - Dreamland's Sam Quinones

How do I book Sam Quinones to speak at my event?

Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Sam Quinones for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Sam Quinones, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Sam Quinones or any other speaker of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Sam Quinones for a speaking engagement?

Speaking fees for Sam Quinones, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Sam Quinones are $10,000 - $20,000 for live events and Below $10,000 for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Sam Quinones, click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.

What topics does Sam Quinones speak about?

Sam Quinones is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as News & Media, Authors, Storytelling, Immigration, Mental Health, Public Health, Hispanic Heritage, Diversity and Health.

Where does Sam Quinones travel from?

Sam Quinones generally travels from Southern California and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances.

Who is the agent for Sam Quinones?

AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully secured keynote speakers like Sam Quinones for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Schedule button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Sam Quinones for your next private or corporate function.

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Sam Quinones is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including News & Media, Authors and Storytelling. The estimated speaking fee range to book Sam Quinones for live events is $10,000 - $20,000, and for virtual events Below $10,000. Sam Quinones generally travels from Southern California and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Dan Schneider, Anna Escobedo Cabral and Maria Echaveste. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Sam Quinones for an upcoming event.

Sam Quinones Speaking Topics

  • DREAMLAND: America's Opiate Epidemic and How We Got Here

Sam Quinones Videos

Sam Quinones, Journalist and Social Issues Speaker
Sam Quinones: America's Opiate Addiction
#YOULIVE 168 - Dreamland's Sam Quinones

Sam Quinones Reviews

  • Xavier University - Nov 06 2023

  • This presentation was extremely well received by the attendees. Feedback included praise for his obvious knowledge and expertise of the roots of the opioid crisis, and encouragement of his community approach and recognition of grassroots efforts.
    Partnership for a Drug Free NJ - Feb 01 2022

  • DCCCA - Nov 18 2020

  • What a wonderful experience overall! Thanks so much to the AAE Team for making this a seamless and pleasant event.
    Amulet Capital - May 18 2018

  • Thanks, looking forward to working with you in the future.
    Xavier University - Mar 12 2018

Sam Quinones News

  • Journalist, author Sam Quinones to speak at Festival of Ideas

    Before writing his latest book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic,” Sam Quinones spent a lot of time writing about a place he later found out had a lot to do with the problem: Mexico. Quinones, the featured speaker for West Virginia University’s David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas this year, was a freelance writer there from 1994 until 2004, focusing on small-town life and immigration. He came back to the United States in 2004 to work for the LA Times, where he was assigned to write about the success of Mexican drug traffickers in the United States. “I really backed into this story,” Quinones said of the opiate epidemic. “I do not start with the pills, I started with heroin. My question was why were the heroin traffickers doing such big business in America today from Mexico.”

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