Prior to coming to Time Inc. in 1991, Okrent worked extensively in book and magazine publishing as an editor, writer and consultant. In the book industry, he was an editor at Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., and at the Viking Press, and editor in chief of general books at Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc. In magazines, he was the founding editor of New England Monthly (twice consecutively the winner of the National Magazine Award for General Excellence). On television, he was a featured commentator on Ken Burns's PBS series "Baseball." As a writer, he has published four books, and his articles have appeared in most major American magazines. He is also co-creative director of Our Times, an illustrated encyclopedia of the twentieth century, published in 1995, and the inventor/founder of Rotisserie League Baseball. He also appears in a speaking part in the Woody Allen film Sweet and Lowdown.

A native of Detroit, and a graduate of the University of Michigan, Okrent lives in Manhattan with his wife and two children.