Francesca Fontana

Francesca Fontana is an American journalist and writer. Formerly a reporter for Wall Street Journal, [1] she is the author of The Family Snitch: A Daughter’s Memoir of Truth and Lies, an investigative memoir about her father's secret criminal past in Chicago, IL.[2]

Early life and education

Fontana lived on the Southwest side of Chicago until she was ten. He mother, who later remarried, left her father when she was five. Her father was arrested when she was nine. She moved or Oregon with her mother, stepfather, and stepbrother when she was ten. [3]

Fontana graduated from the University of Oregon in 2017. As a junior, she learned how to use the federal court records database and began researching her father's incarceration, intending to base her Clark Honors College thesis on her research. [4]

Career

A weelk after her graduation, Fontana moved to New York, where she interned for the Wall Street Journal. [5]She was subsequently hired as a reporter, and later as a host for a Journal podcast. She was laid off in a round of editorial staff cuts in January 2026. Her last byline for the Journal was an excerpt from her excerpt from her memoir.[1]

The Family Snitch was published by Steerforth in February 2026. [6] It received positive reviews in publications including The New York Times.[4][2]

Bibliography

  • The Family Snitch: A Daughter’s Memoir of Truth and Lies (2026, Steerforth: ISBN 978-1-58642-422-0) [2]

Recognition

In 2020, she received a Front Page Award for personal-service journalism by the Newswomen's Club of New York.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Dahmen, Nicole (2026-02-12). "Artifacts of the Past". Eugene Weekly. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Family Snitch: A Daughter's Memoir of Truth and Lies by Francesca Fontana". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2026-03-20.
  3. ↑ "The Guy Who Knew a Guy - Family Secrets". iHeart. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  4. 1 2 Brownrigg, Sylvia (2026-02-04). "An Engrossing Memoir Asks: Is Telling the Truth a Betrayal?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-03.
  5. ↑ Graham, Bella; Mordan, Sadie (2026-03-06). "A decade of snitching comes to a close". Daily Emerald. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  6. ↑ "The Family Snitch: A Daughter's Memoir of Truth and Lies". Library Journal. Retrieved 2026-05-29.
  7. ↑ "2020 Front Page Awards". THE NEWSWOMEN'S CLUB OF NEW YORK. Retrieved 2026-05-14.
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