John Glassie has written many articles about books, the arts, and ideas, and has conducted interviews with dozens of authors, artists, scientists, and other cultural figures. These have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Dallas Morning News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Newsday, The Toronto Star, The Believer, Salon, and Wired, among other publications. He is writing a non-fiction book about an eccentric 17th-century polymath.

Glassie is a former contributing editor for the New York Times Magazine, where for several years he edited the weekly Lives column. Some of the writers he has worked with: Diane Ackerman, Chris Adrian, Daniel Alarcón, Matt Bai, Amy Bloom, Grégoire Bouillier, Ben Greenman, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), Sheila Heti, Gabe Hudson, Samantha Hunt, Bret Anthony Johnston, Etgar Keret, Binnie Kirshenbaum, Yiyun Li, Wyatt Mason, D.T. Max, Daphne Merkin, Michael Norman, ZZ Packer, David Rakoff, Karen Russell, Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, Rory Stewart, Robert Stone, Wells Tower, Abraham Verghese, Vendela Vida, John Wray.

In 2005, Glassie’s photographs of bikes on the streets of New York became the basis of a book, Bicycles Locked to Poles, published by McSweeney's, and a show at Jen Bekman Gallery. The project received a great deal of attention in the blogosphere as well as in New York Magazine, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Village Voice, and Photo Magazine (French).

John has spoken to students or participated on panels at The New School, The CUNY Graduate Center, and The University of Iowa. He has also been a ghostwriter and speechwriter and has worked with a number of museums and cultural organizations. He grew up in near Washington, D.C. and attended The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.