Trivia

His mother Geraldine Laybourne was the chairwoman of Oxygen Media, which operates a cable television channel intended for women, and she is a former president of Nickelodeon, the children's cable network. His father Kit Laybourne is a television producer, whose credits include the series "Gullah Gullah Island" on Nickelodeon and "Liquid Television" on MTV. He also wrote "The Animation Book" (1998), and is an associate professor of media studies at the New School in New York.

He graduated from Wesleyan and received a master's degree in teaching from Columbia. He was previously an English teacher at the Beacon School in New York before he became a writer.

His wife, Herran Bekele, was formerly an ABC News producer. They were married at the All Souls Unitarian Church in New York in May 2006.

He is the brother of Emmy Laybourne.