There’s not aSurvivorfan who doesn’t know who Stephen Fishbach is. After making it to the very end ofSurvivor: Tocantinsalongside his early game ally J.T. Thomas. The two are still considered one of the most dominant duos inSurvivorhistory with Fishbach being a strategic mastermind to J.T.'s charming social player. Fishbach was even given the nickname “The Wizard” by none other than Benjamin “Coach” Wade for his ability to navigate the complex tribal politics to control the late game votes.
And then, eight years later, he returned to the game forSurvivor: Cambodia, aptly subtitled, “Second Chance.” And Fishbach admits that, “part of the only reason I did [Survivor] again was because there was afan voteand I thought it would be cool to be able to tell people I got voted back on the show.”
It was in Cambodia where Fishbach experienced a moment so awful—his entire tribe was stuck in a monsoon, sideways rain, drenched and shivering and he had to go into the jungle alone because he became violently ill—that he experienced a moment that most people are lucky to get in their lifetimes.
“I just had this, like, epiphany moment of, if I’m willing to do all this for reality television, like, how do I not have the courage to write a book?” he recalls to theAlpha Epsilon Pifraternity, which he’s been a member of since his time at Yale in 2001, in a recent interview.
Because what most people don't know is thatSurvivorwasn’t the only feat he dreamed of accomplishing. After studying English during his university years, he’d always wanted to write a novel, but he claims “writing fiction always seemed kind of holy.”
But on that fateful night in Cambodia, everything changed. And when he returned home to New York, he committed himself to writing what would eventually become his first novel, “Escape,” which taps into his firsthand experiences with reality television through a dangerous, suspenseful story set in the jungle.
“I love books set in the jungle,” he explains. “I also kind of wanted to marry [reality television] with, like,, a jungle thriller…like a real, true sort of version of what it really feels like to be on reality TV and, like, especially in the jungle.”
And all his hard work paid off because “Escape” became a bestseller, receiving an immense amount of positive reviews amongst being selected forEntertainment Weekly’smust-read list and being named one of Spotify’s best audiobooks of the year.
“It really has been the fulfillment of everything I was hoping,” he shares. From the jungles ofSurvivorto the building s fictional jungle thriller in his mind, we can’t wait to see what fan-favorite Fishbach does next!
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