Nora
Emmy-nominated Journalist
Graphic Novel Author
Travels from: Brooklyn, New York

“Najem and Neus ground this gripping narrative, told with great immediacy, in the teen’s close-knit family.”—Horn Book, starred review

Nora Neus is an Emmy-nominated journalist and writer based in Brooklyn, New York. She’s the author of Muhammad Nadjem, War Reporter, a middle-grade graphic novel about citizen journalism in Syria, 24 Hours in Charlottesville: An Oral History of August 12, 2017, a non-fiction book about the 2017 white nationalist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia (Summer 2023), and Stunt Girl, a young adult graphic novel about journalism in turn-of-the-century NYC (Winter 2025).

By day, Nora works as a producer for CNN New York. She is currently anchor producer to anchor John Berman, responsible for producing a daily breaking news broadcast from CNN’s New York headquarters. She has covered the conflict in Ukraine, American politics, the ongoing Covid pandemic, and other breaking news stories.

In addition to her work at CNN, Nora has completed her Master of War Studies degree through King’s College London. She also holds a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Virginia, where she completed research on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. Her B.A. with distinction in History is also from the University of Virginia, where she was a Jefferson Scholar.

She started her journalism career as a child writing a newspaper called “Neus News” for her family and friends.

24 Hours in Charlottesville: An Oral History of the Stand Against White Supremacy

Beacon Press |
Nonfiction

A gripping oral history of the white nationalist riots that shook the nation and signaled the arrival of a galvanizing new era, giving unprecedented voice to those who fought back.

On August 11 and 12, 2017, armed neo-Nazi demonstrators descended on the University of Virginia campus and downtown Charlottesville. When they assaulted antiracist counterprotesters, the police failed to intervene, and events culminated in the murder of counterprotestor Heather Heyer.

In this book, Emmy-nominated CNN journalist and former Charlottesville resident Nora Neus—who was present that fateful weekend—crafts an extraordinary account from the voices of the students, faith leaders, politicians, and community members who were there. Through a vivid collage of original interviews, new statements from Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, social media posts, court testimony, and government reports, this book portrays the arrival of white supremacist demonstrators, the interfaith service held in response, the tiki torch march on the university campus, the protests and counterprotests in downtown Charlottesville the next day, and the deadly car attack. 24 Hours in Charlottesville will also feature never-before-disclosed information from activists and city government leaders, including Charlottesville mayor Mike Signer.

Muhammad Najem, War Reporter: How One Boy Put the Spotlight on Syria

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers |
Graphic Memoir

A teenage boy risks his life to tell the truth in this gripping graphic memoir by youth activist Muhammad Najem and CNN producer Nora Neus. 

“A story of journalism at its most inspiring, its most heartbreaking, its most essential. Muhammad is a reporter who brings hope to a damaged world.”
—John Berman, CNN anchor
“A powerful true story that demonstrates the power of one young person determined to change the world. Everyone should read this phenomenal book.” —Victoria Jamieson, coauthor of When Stars Are Scattered
“What an amazing story this is! One family’s struggle for survival in the chaos of Syria, and one boy’s courageous decision to risk his life to tell the story. This graphic memoir is inspiring and exciting, powerful and very poignant. I loved it!” —Anderson Cooper
Muhammad Najem was only eight years old when the war in Syria began. He was thirteen when his beloved Baba, his father, was killed in a bombing while praying. By fifteen, Muhammad didn’t want to hide anymore—he wanted to act. He was determined to reveal what families like his were enduring in Syria: bombings by their own government and days hiding in dark underground shelters.

Armed with the camera on his phone and the support of his family, he started reporting on the war using social media. He interviewed other kids like him to show what they hope for and dream about. More than anything, he did it to show that Syrian kids like his toddler brother and infant sister, are just like kids in any other country. Despite unimaginable loss, Muhammad was always determined to document the humanity of the Syrian people. Eventually, the world took notice.

This tenderly illustrated graphic memoir is told by Muhammad himself along with CNN producer Nora Neus, who helped break Muhammad’s story and bring his family’s plight to an international audience.

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Muhammad Najem and the Story of Syria

Focusing on the story behind Muhammad Najem, War Reporter, I’ll introduce young readers to Muhammad through his original videos when he was 13 years old, through to the story of how I met him, his incredible bravery in reporting on Syria, and finally how we wrote our book together. I’ll show behind-the-scenes videos and drafts of the graphic novel, and will include a special video message from Muhammad!

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Inside the Wonderful World of Graphic Novels

Using Muhammad Najem, War Reporter as a guide, I’ll walk students through the process of writing a graphic novel. Yes, WRITING! You might think of graphic novels as primarily art-based, but the stories behind your favorites still need words to come to life. I’ll show students the evolution of the graphic novel “script” through edits through to sketches, inks, and colors, and inspire them to create their own.
This talk is somewhat based on this popular Substack post: https://noraneus.substack.com/p/how-do-you-write-a-graphic-novel
**This can also be done as a workshop or with a workshop add-on, in which I can walk students through writing the first page of their graphic novel from scratch and/or provide feedback and criticism on a few pages of their original graphic novels.
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Journey through Journalism

This presentation introduces students to journalism concepts, with examples from Muhammad Najem, War Reporter and my own career as an Emmy-nominated journalist including stories from my reporting in Ukraine and in local news. This presentation can also touch on news literacy concepts, including what is “fake news” and how to spot it, and how to be an informed news consumer, which can complement thee news literacy standard recently added to the Common Core standards.

**Note: This can also be aimed at teachers and parents as a development activity to discuss how to teach news literacy and journalism, even to younger students.

**Note: This could also be a workshop or have a workshop addition with a school newspaper, yearbook or TV station, or a journalism class. I could either walk students through the creation of a new article/piece, enabling them to walk out of the room with a piece of journalism, or can provide feedback and criticism on some of their existing projects.

Historically Speaking | Nora Neus, Emmy nominated CNN Reporter, on reporting, producing, and her new book!

Politics and Prose | P&P Live! Muhammad Najem, Nora Neus, & Julie Robine – Muhammad Najem, War Reporter

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rqTQAsYdHA

KimCarsonNOW | Nora Neus, CNN Reporter and Author

Nora’s Newsletter | Substack

Nora’s Reporting

Book Club Guide: Muhammed Najem

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
CNN | Emmy-nominated Producer and Journalist
King’s College | Master of War Studies
University of Virginia | Master of Public Policy

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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