Philip Galanes

Philip Galanes (born in October 4, 1962 in New York City) is an American writer and attorney.

Life and career

Galanes grew up in the readership area of the Brattleboro Reformer, from which newspaper he read to the family the "Dear Abby" family-advice column six days a week in his self-appointed "family fixer" role.

He graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School, and then worked at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton and Garrison and Debevoise and Plimpton. He has also been employed by Golden Books Family Entertainment, the children’s book publishing and media company.

Galanes' father died of a self-inflicted gunshot when Galanes was 23, a fact Galanes kept secret while telling of other fictional causes of his father's death for a decade.

He published two novels: Father’s Day, published in 2004 (Alfred A. Knopf) and Emma’s Table, published in 2008 (HarperCollins). He is included in Contemporary authors Volume 231, 2005 and Contemporary authors new revision series Volume 196, 2010. Writing Father's Day was a step in Galanes coming to terms with his own father's death.

Galanes currently writes the modern-day advice column, “Social Q’s”, which appears weekly in the New York Times Sunday Styles section. The column came about when a Times editor read one of his novels and proposed he try the new medium.

Some of his essays from the column were published as the book Social Q's: How to Survive the Quirks, Quandaries, and Quagmires of Today. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2011 ISBN 9781451605785. As characterized by radio interviewer Terry Gross, the essays "offers advice on how to handle difficult social situations at work and at home, as well as how to deal with new etiquette questions relating to texting, email and social media". Galanes also monitors the "Social Q's" group on Facebook, where members discuss current topics.

Media appearances

Galanes frequently appears on television in connection with his column. He has been interviewed on The Gayle King Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Plum TV. He appears regularly on the Today Show with Hoda and Kathie Lee. Galanes has also appeared on a number of NPR programs.