William Finnegan is an American journalist and author. He is best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life, which chronicles his lifelong passion for surfing. Finnegan has written for The New Yorker since 1987, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, and Harper's Magazine. He has reported from many countries, including Mexico, India, and South Africa. Finnegan has also written several books, including Cold New World: Growing Up in a Harder Country, which examines the lives of young people in the United States, and Crossing the Line: A Year in the Land of Apartheid, which chronicles his experiences in South Africa during the apartheid era. Finnegan is a recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship, and his work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the National Magazine Award and the Overseas Press Club Award.