David Elliot Grann (born March 10, 1967) is an American journalist, a staff writer for ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine, and a best-selling author. His first book, '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon,'' was published by Doubleday in February 2009. After its first week of publication, it debuted on ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' bestseller list at #4. Grann's articles have been collected in several anthologies, including ''What We Saw: The Events of September 11, 2001'', ''The Best American Crime Writing'' of 2004 and 2005, and ''The Best American Sports Writing'' of 2003 and 2006. He has written for ''

The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...

'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

,'' ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', and ''

The Weekly Standard ''The Weekly Standard'' was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis and commentary, published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the ''Standard'' had been described as a "re ...

''. According to a profile in ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

'', Grann has a reputation as a "workhorse reporter", which has made him a popular journalist who "inspires a devotion in readers that can border on the obsessive."

Early life

Grann was born on March 10, 1967 to Phyllis and Victor Grann. His mother is the former CEO of Putnam Penguin and the first woman CEO of a major publishing firm. His father is an oncologist and Director of the Bennett Cancer Center in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 202 ...

. Grann has two siblings, Edward and Alison.

Career

Grann graduated from

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

in 1989 with a B.A. in Government."Contributors: David Grann."
''

''. No date. Accessed May 26, 2009. He received a

Thomas J. Watson Fellowship The Thomas J. Watson Foundation is a charitable trust formed 1961 in honor of former chairman and CEO of IBM, Thomas J. Watson. The Foundation's stated vision is to empower students “to expand their vision, test and develop their potential, an ...

and conducted research in Mexico, where he began his career as a freelance

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. He received a master's degree in international relations from the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

in 1993.Potts, Rolf and Grann, David. "David Grann", RolfPotts.com (March 2009)
Accessed May 26, 2009. At that point primarily interested in fiction, Grann hoped to develop a career as a novelist."David Grann on murder, madness and writing for ''The New Yorker''"
by Andrea Pitzer,

Nieman Foundation for Journalism The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University is the primary journalism institution at Harvard. It was founded in February 1938 as the result of a $1.4 million bequest by Agnes Wahl Nieman, the widow of Lucius W. Nieman, founder of ...

at Harvard, April 5, 2010 His journalism career began after he was hired in 1994 as a

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ( copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual o ...

at ''

The Hill ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', a

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, D.C.-based newspaper covering the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

. The same year, he earned a master's degree in creative writing from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

, where he taught courses in creative writing and fiction. He was named ''The Hill's'' executive editor in 1995. In 1996, Grann became a senior editor at ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

''. He joined ''

'' in 2003 as a staff writer. He was a finalist for the

Michael Kelly Award The Michael Kelly Award is a journalism award sponsored by the Atlantic Media Company Atlantic Media is an American print and online media company owned by David G. Bradley and based in the Watergate in Washington, D.C. It publishes ''The Atlan ...

in 2005. In 2009, he received both the

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

and

Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...

for his ''New Yorker'' piece " Trial By Fire", about

Cameron Todd Willingham Cameron Todd Willingham (January 9, 1968 – February 17, 2004) was an American man who was convicted and executed for the murder of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas, on December 23, 1991. Since Willingham ...

. Another ''New Yorker'' investigative article, "The Mark of a Masterpiece", raised questions about the methods of Peter Paul Biro who claimed to use fingerprints to help authenticate lost masterpieces. Biro sued Grann and ''The New Yorker'' for libel,"Forensic Art Expert Sues ''New Yorker'' – Author Wants $2 million for defamation over David Grann piece"
by Dylan Byers, ''

Adweek ''Adweek'' is a weekly American advertising trade publication that was first published in 1979. ''Adweek'' covers creativity, client–agency relationships, global advertising, accounts in review, and new campaigns. During this time, it has cover ...

'', June 30, 2011 but the case was summarily dismissed."Art Authenticator Loses Defamation Suit Against the New Yorker
, by Albert Samaha, ''Village Voice'' blog, August 5, 2013 The article was a finalist for the 2010 National Magazine Award.

''The Lost City of Z''

Grann's 2009 non-fiction book '' The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon'' recounts the odyssey of the notable British explorer, Captain

Percy Fawcett Percy Harrison Fawcett (18 August 1867 during or after 1925) was a British geographer, artillery officer, cartographer, archaeologist, and explorer of South America. Fawcett disappeared in 1925 (along with his eldest son, Jack, and one o ...

who, in 1925, disappeared with his son in the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

while looking for the

Lost City of Z The Lost City of Z is the name given by Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett, a British surveyor, to an indigenous city that he believed had existed in the jungle of the Mato Grosso state of Brazil. Based on early histories of South America and his own e ...

. For decades, explorers and scientists have tried to find evidence of both his party and the Lost City of Z. Grann also trekked into the Amazon. In his book, he reveals new evidence about how Fawcett died and shows that "Z" may have existed. The book was optioned by

Brad Pitt William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Awar ...

Plan B Plan B typically refers to a contingency plan, a plan devised for an outcome other than in the expected plan. Plan B may also refer to: * Plan B, a brand name of levonorgestrel, an emergency contraception drug Film and television * Plan B Ent ...

production company and Paramount Pictures. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name and released in the US in 2017.

Other books

An anthology of twelve previously published Grann essays, '' The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession'', was published in March 2010. In March 2014, Grann said he was working on a new book about the

Osage Indian murders The Osage Indian murders were a series of murders of Osage Native Americans in Osage County, Oklahoma, during the 1910s–1930s; newspapers described the increasing number of unsolved murders as the Reign of Terror, lasting from 1921 to 1926. S ...

, considered "one of the most sinister crimes in American history." His book '' Killers of the Flower Moon: An American Crime and the Birth of the FBI'' was published in 2017, chronicling "a tale of murder, betrayal, heroism and a nation's struggle to leave its frontier culture behind and enter the modern world." It was a finalist for the 2017

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

. The book was acquired for film adaptation by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

in 2017, and the film will be released theatrically by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

and stream on

Apple TV+ Apple TV+ is an American subscription streaming service owned and operated by Apple Inc. Launched on November 1, 2019, it offers a selection of original production film and television series called Apple Originals. The service was announced ...

in 2023.

Film adaptations

''The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon'' was the first novel by Grann to be adapted in a film. Released in 2017, it was directed by

James Gray James, Jim, or Jimmy Gray may refer to: Politicians * James Gray (Australian politician) (1820–1889), member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly * James Gray (British politician) (born 1954), British politician * James Gray (mayor) (1862–1916) ...

and starred

Charlie Hunnam Charles Matthew Hunnam (; born 10 April 1980) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Pete Dunham in '' Green Street Hooligans'' (2005) and as Jax Teller in the FX series ''Sons of Anarchy'' (2008–2014). For the latter, he w ...

Robert Pattinson Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor. Known for starring in both big-budget and independent films, Pattinson has ranked among the world's highest-paid actors. In 2010, ''Time'' magazine named him one of the 10 ...

Sienna Miller Sienna Rosie Diana Miller (born December 28, 1981) is an American-British actress. Born in New York City and raised in London, she began her career as a photography model, appearing in the pages of Italian ''Vogue'' and for the 2003 Pirelli ca ...

, and Tom Holland. ''

The Old Man & the Gun ''The Old Man & the Gun'' is a 2018 American biographical crime film written and directed by David Lowery, about Forrest Tucker, a career criminal and prison escape artist. The script is loosely based on David Grann's 2003 article in ''The Ne ...

'' was Grann's second film adaptation, released in 2018. Written and directed by David Lowery, the film stars

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...

Casey Affleck Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt (born August 12, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award. He ...

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

Tika Sumpter Euphemia LatiQue Sumpter, better known as Tika Sumpter, is an American actress, singer, producer, television host, and model. Sumpter began her career as the host of '' Best Friend's Date''. From 2005 to 2010, she appeared in the daytime soap ope ...

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

and

Sissy Spacek Mary Elizabeth Spacek (; born December 25, 1949) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for four Britis ...

. The script is loosely based on Grann's 2003 article in ''

'', which was later collected in his 2010 book ''

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes ''The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession'' (2010) is a collection of 12 essays by American journalist David Grann. Essays The essays were previously published between 2000 and 2009 in ''The New Yorker'', ''The New ...

''. The film adaptation of Grann's '' Killers of the Flower Moon'' is currently slated for a 2023 theatrical release. It is directed by

and stars Leonardo DiCaprio,

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro Jr. ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the best actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades ...

Jesse Plemons Jesse Plemons (; born April 2, 1988) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and achieved a career breakthrough with his major role as Landry Clarke in the NBC drama series '' Friday Night Lights'' (2006–2011). He subsequ ...

, and Lily Gladstone. It will be released by

and stream on

announced in April 2022 that Grann's '' The White Darkness'' would be developed into a new limited series starring

Tom Hiddleston Thomas William Hiddleston (born 9 February 1981) is an English actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), starting with ''Thor'' in 2011 and most recently in the Disney+ series ''Loki'' in 2021 ...

. The series will be developed by Soo Hugh and co-produced by

Apple Studios Apple Studios is an American film and television production company and a distributor that is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It specializes in developing and producing television series and films for Apple's digital video streaming service Apple TV ...

and UCP. In July 2022, Scorsese and DiCaprio also acquired the rights to Grann's upcoming non-fiction book, ''The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder''.

Personal life

He has curated the

George Polk Awards The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awa ...

. He has two children. As of 2009 he resided in New York City.

Awards

(1989) *

Michael Kelly award The Michael Kelly Award is a journalism award sponsored by the Atlantic Media Company Atlantic Media is an American print and online media company owned by David G. Bradley and based in the Watergate in Washington, D.C. It publishes ''The Atlan ...

, finalist (2005) *

(2009) *

Samuel Johnson Prize The Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction, formerly the Samuel Johnson Prize, is an annual British book prize for the best non-fiction writing in the English language. It was founded in 1999 following the demise of the NCR Book Award. With its ...

, shortlist (2009) *

National Magazine Awards The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

, finalist (2010) *

, finalist (2017)

Bibliography

Books

* * * * Based on the ''New Yorker'' article of the same name.

Essays and reporting

"The Selling of the Scandal"
''

'', September 28, 1998.
"The Stasi and the Swan
– The last spy story of the cold war." ''The New Republic'', April 19, 1999.
"Crimetown USA
– The city that fell in love with the mob.", ''The New Republic'', July 10, 2000.

''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'', June 2001.
"Which Way Did He Run?"
''

'', January 13, 2002.
"Baseball Without Metaphor"
''The New York Times Magazine'', September 1, 2002.
"The Old Man and the Gun
–

Forrest Tucker Forrest Meredith Tucker (February 12, 1919 – October 25, 1986) was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided fund ...

had a long career robbing banks, and he wasn't willing to retire", ''

'', January 27, 2003.
"The Price of Power"
''The New York Times Magazine'', May 11, 2003.
"City of Water
– Can an intricate and antiquated maze of tunnels continue to sustain New York?", ''The New Yorker'', September 1, 2003.
"The Brand
– How the Aryan Brotherhood became the most murderous prison gang in America", ''The New Yorker'', February 16, 2004.
"The Squid Hunter
– Can Steve O'Shea capture the sea's most elusive creature", ''The New Yorker'', May 24, 2004.
"Inside Dope
– Mark Halperin and the transformation of the Washington establishment", ''The New Yorker'', October 25, 2004.
"Mysterious Circumstances
– The strange death of a Sherlock Holmes fanatic", ''The New Yorker'', December 13, 2004.
"Stealing Time
– What makes Rickey Henderson run?", ''The New Yorker'', September 12, 2005.
"The Lost City of Z
– A quest to uncover the secrets of the Amazon", ''The New Yorker'' September 19, 2005.
"True Crime
– A postmodern murder mystery", ''The New Yorker'', February 11, 2008.
"The Chameleon
– The many lives of Frédéric Bourdin", ''The New Yorker'', August 11, 2008.
"The Fall
– John McCain's choices", ''The New Yorker'', November 17, 2008. * "Trial by Fire – Did Texas execute an innocent man?", ''The New Yorker'', September 7, 2009. * "The Mark of a Masterpiece" – The man who keeps finding famous fingerprints on uncelebrated works of art, ''The New Yorker'', July 12 & 19, 2010. *
"The Yankee Comandante
– A story of love, revolution, and betrayal", ''The New Yorker'', May 28, 2012.
"The Marked Woman
– How an Osage Indian family became the prime target of one of the most sinister crimes in American history", ''The New Yorker'', March 1, 2017. *

References

External links

David Grann
official website
Articles by David Grann
at ''

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grann, David 1967 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) American male journalists American non-fiction writers Connecticut College alumni The New Yorker staff writers Journalists from New York City Anthony Award winners