Ken Wells, MA ’77, recently published his third work of narrative non-fiction, “Gumbo Life: Tales from the Roux Bayou.” The culinary memoir from W.W. Norton and Co. is equal parts history, travelogue and biography as it chronicles the evolution and global spread of Cajun and Creole Louisiana’s favorite comfort food. Wells retired from daily journalism in August 2015 to write books fulltime. His career included stints at The Miami Herald, The Wall Street Journal, Conde Nast Portfolio and Bloomberg/Businessweek. He’s also the author of five well-received novels of the Cajun bayous published by Random House. A Louisiana native, Wells now divides his time between Chicago and a summer cabin in the wilds of Maine.

Updated: May 2, 2019