Press

“One of the best books I have ever read.”

-Doggiesandstuff.com. Read the full review here!

A Famous Dog’s Life: How One Woman Helped Turn a Chihuahua Into a Star

They’re four of the most famous words of the ’90s — “Yo quiero Taco Bell” —and they were uttered by a Chihuahua. A Chihuahua named Gidget, to be exact. This 12-lb. pooch didn’t just sell tacos, though. She had a prolific career in TV and movies, and met Hollywood’s biggest stars (Brad Pitt, anyone?). For more, including an excerpt from the book, click here.

Teddy Hilton plugs the book!

Perez Hilton’s pet site got in on the coverage … check out their blog post.

Los Angeles Magazine

Coast to coast buzz: The California magazine included A Famous Dog’s Life on their May Reading List.

Alumna, ‘People’ writer pens book on celebrity dog

By Kathleen Loughran
Collegian Staff Writer

Flipping through the pages of “People” magazine, stories about the lives of the rich and famous are told routinely. But there was one facet of Hollywood that was not explored in detail until Penn State alumna Rennie Dyball wrote about it. “To my knowledge, no one has ever written extensively about studio animal trainers, which I think is a fascinating slice of Hollywood,” Dyball, Class of 2002, said…. Read more…

Alumni, faculty member selected for communications awards

Three Penn State communications alumni and one faculty member from the College of Communications were selected for awards recognizing their accomplishments and contributions to the college, the University and beyond.

Those selected were Rennie Dyball, an author and reporter for People magazine; Joe Krushinsky, vice president of Maryland Public Broadcasting; Thomas Loebig, director of digital media content and operations for AccuWeather; and Michael Elavsky, an assistant professor in the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies.<br /> Read more…

Christian Siriano

The Project Runway alum on his new book, meaningful mentors, and his fierce new footwear collection

Though he’s most associated in our minds with popular television and ‘tween-flavored catchphrases, designer Christian Siriano is no fashion lightweight. With formal training in everything from couture to millinery to bridal to the perfect pintuck, not to mention three independent showings at New York Fashion Week, the 23-year-old Project Runway winner is pretty much everything you wouldn’t expect from someone whose rise to prominence came courtesy of reality TV. In his new book, Fierce Style, Siriano (who worked on it with People writer Rennie Dyball) imparts plenty of sound, humorously delivered fashion advice (chapter titles include “Don’t Be Boring” and “Finding Your Inner Ferocia”), but the real value-added of this scrapbook-style memoir is how effectively Siriano ties his tips to his personal experiences. Some—involving his “first muse,” his eccentric older sister, Shannon, for example—are uplifting, most are not. For every victory Siriano’s enjoyed, you learn there were two or more failures preceding it, propelling him forward. Read more…

Christian Siriano

The fashion phenom talks about success, style, the industry, and ferocity
By Raymond Cummings
Prior to evolving into the gravity-defying-coif-sporting, catchphrase-spouting enfant terrible who walked away with Project Runway‘s fourth season title, Christian Siriano was a self-described “little fairy white kid walking around in giant FUBU jerseys” in Annapolis. Today, the bespeckled imp is a full-fledged fashion designer who sends models down Fashion Week runways wearing his frocks, has dressed everyone from Whoopi Goldberg to Heidi Klum, and has deals with Payless Shoe Source and Victoria’s Secret, among others. Read more…

BOOK SMART

Christian Siriano breaks into a characteristically fierce pose while signing his new book, Fierce Style (cowritten with PEOPLE’s Rennie Dyball), Wednesday at Borders in New York. Read more…