About
John Infortunio
John Infortunio was born in 1972 in Brooklyn, New York. He remains a lifelong Brooklynite having grown up in Windsor Terrace, and now Bay Ridge.
His mother, Marie, was a Speech and English Language Learner Teacher for over 20 years. His father, John Sr., was a child of the Great Depression, having been born in 1929. John Sr. worked in Finance. Many of John Jr.’s summers were spent going to work with his father as well as helping his mother work on her classroom plans and lessons. Although they passed in 2014 and 2019 respectively, he has always considered them to be his heroes. They taught the importance of determination, hard work, and kindness. They also imbued a deep appreciation for literature, art, and music.
John attended Catholic schools for most of his academic life. The centralities of attending Catholic school can be seen in some interwoven themes in his work. There is also quite a bit of his work that is inspired by the city he grew up in and the relationship of the individual to their surroundings. In John’s case it was a childhood replete with many friends and the interwoven fabric of the small neighborhood where everyone knew one another.
John attended the now closed Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn and it was here where he developed a true sense of appreciation for his teachers and the classroom. Even though he played several sports in high school he also was active in the theater program and school newspaper. Upon graduation he attended St. Francis College in Brooklyn. John became a member of their theater program, and he worked on several productions. He credits the professors at St. Francis to his desire to teach Literature. It was also at this point that John began his professional career in Education. He spent the last two years of his tenure at St. Francis College working at the NYC Department of Education. After three years at the DOE, he briefly worked at Simon and Schuster for Little Simon Children’s Books.
The Summer of 1998 changed the direction of John’s professional life. He went back to teach at his high school, Bishop Ford and for sixteen years was able to work in the very community he grew up in, He also coached Men’s Basketball, while acting as the school’s Athletic Director. He would admit that one of his greatest accomplishments was leading the Men’s team to their only City and State Championship in the school’s history. The relationships he developed with his students, athletes, and families are some of the most meaningful to him.
During the final years of working at Bishop Ford, John began working on his first novel, Destroyed by the Events of the Day. It would become a passion project that would take fifteen years to write. “Life would get in the way of writing” he would joke. The 15-year timeline is “honored” in the novel with the absence of an officially labelled Chapter 15.
John departed Bishop Ford High School in 2013 and went to work as the Dean of Students at Cristo Rey Brooklyn High School. After several years he undertook the role of CFO/COO. By the end of his tenure, Destroyed by the Events of the Day became a reality as it was published by Palmetto Publishing. The novel was originally intended to be a short story. His mother returned his manuscript and said, “Keep writing”. When he was asked about publishing, he said, “It was both exciting and sad releasing the novel. It had been mine for so long and to share it felt like giving up a child.” The success of the first novel correlated to his interest in wanting to tell another story. Today Was Tomorrow became a force all on its own and took two years to write. While not connected to his first book, the themes and characteristics of his writing can be seen throughout. Today Was Tomorrow was released in January of 2026. The story took him to Savannah, Georgia where he spent time writing and speaking to residents. The decision to write portions of it in a city he loves only added to the authenticity of the work.
“I just wanted to tell a story. I was just a guy with a story I thought people might like if they found it and gave it a chance. I could not have imagined the journey it took me on personally- emotionally and creatively.”
Currently, John is working on his third novel while working at the Department of Education. He enjoys nothing more than spending time with his son, Kevin, who has his own inspiring music career. Some of John’s literary role models are found in classical authors such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway as well as modern legends, Dennis Lehane and James McBride.
Special Thanks to:
Photographer
Connor Weitz
Jeimy Hernández
Website Designer