Erik Larson (born January 3, 1954) is an American journalist and author of mostly historical nonfiction books. His books include '' Isaac's Storm'' (1999), '' The Devil in the White City'' (2003), '' In the Garden of Beasts'' (2011), and '' Dead Wake'' (2015). ''The Devil in the White City'' won the 2004

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards hon ...

in the Best Fact Crime category, among other awards.

Early life and education

Larson was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and grew up in Freeport,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York. He studied Russian history at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

and graduated '' summa cum laude'' in 1976. After a year off, he attended the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, graduating in 1978. He was inspired to go into journalism after seeing the movie '' All the President's Men''.Everett, Matthew.
Q&A: Author Erik Larson
" ''Knoxville Mercury'', 16 March 2016.

Writing career

Larson's first newspaper job was with the '' Bucks County Courier Times'' in Levittown, Pennsylvania, where he wrote about murder, witches, environmental poisons, and other "equally pleasant" things. He later became a features writer for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' and ''Time''. His magazine stories have appeared in ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'', '' The Atlantic Monthly'', '' Harper's'', and other publications.

Books

Larson has written a number of books, mostly historical nonfiction. In a 2016 interview with the ''Knoxville Mercury'', Larson stated he does all of his own research, asking, "why should I let anybody else have that fun?" He included among his literary inspirations

David McCullough David Gaub McCullough (; July 7, 1933 – August 7, 2022) was an American popular historian. He was a two-time winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. In 2006, he was given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United S ...

, Barbara Tuchman, David Halberstam, and Walter Lord. Larson's 2006 book, ''Thunderstruck'', intersperses the story of Hawley Harvey Crippen with that of

Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquess of Marconi ( ; ; 25 April 1874 – 20 July 1937) was an Italian electrical engineer, inventor, and politician known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based Wireless telegraphy, wireless tel ...

and the invention of radio. Larson released his first novel in audiobook format only, titled ''No One Goes Alone'', on September 28, 2021.

Teaching and public speaking

Larson has taught non-fiction writing at San Francisco State University, the Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars, and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

, and he has spoken to audiences across the United States.

Personal life

Larson has lived in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

; Bristol, Pennsylvania;

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

; and

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. He and his wife, Dr. Christine Gleason, have three daughters. They reside in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and maintain a home in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington.

Works

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Erik Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni American male journalists American social sciences writers Edgar Award winners 1954 births People from Freeport, New York Living people Writers from Brooklyn University of Pennsylvania alumni San Francisco State University faculty University of Oregon faculty Johns Hopkins University faculty The Wall Street Journal people Time (magazine) people