Since 2008 he has been Senior Correspondent for NYTimes.com based in Paris. Cowell began his journalism career as a reporter for British newspapers and the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. He joined Reuters in 1972 and The New York Times in 1981. His reporting has covered Turkey, the Middle East, Africa, Greece, Egypt, Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.In 1985, Cowell won the George Polk Award and was nominated for a Pulitzer prize for foreign reporting. He is the author of Killing the Wizards -- Wars of Power and Freedom from Zaire to South Africa; A Walking Guide: A Novel; The Terminal Spy: The Life and Death of Alexander Litvinenko; and The Paris Correspondent: A Novel.