Greg Tobin is an American editor, publisher, journalist and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. He worked as an executive in the book publishing industry in New York City for more than 20 years, including stints as vice president and editor in chief of

Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...

(then a division of

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( doing business as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned by AT&T. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City. It was established as Time Warne ...

) and senior vice president and editor in chief of

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

(a division of

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

). Tobin is the author of many books including ''Successor: Unshrouding Mysteries of the Conclave, Was Jesus Really Born on Christmas?'' (2011), and ''Saints and Sinners'' (1999). In 2022, he was appointed president of RENEW, a nonprofit organization that supports and develops small community groups within Catholic parishes.

Career

For a few years Tobin was an independent writer and journalist, and then was appointed editor of ''The Catholic Advocate'', the biweekly newspaper of the Roman Catholic

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The mother church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Hea ...

, New Jersey; following which he served in senior administrative positions at

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

South Orange, New Jersey South Orange is a historic suburban Village (New Jersey), village located in Essex County, New Jersey. It was formally known as the Township of South Orange Village from October 1978 until April 25, 2024. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, including interim vice president of the Division of University Advancement. From 2015-2021, Tobin was the General Manager of

Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led Mutual aid, mutual-aid fellowship focused on an abstinence-based recovery model from alcoholism through its spiritually inclined twelve-step program. AA's Twelve Traditions, besides emphasizing anon ...

World Services, Inc., a non-profit publishing and service organization. Tobin's first published book was ''Season of Power'' (co-authored with Sam Tanenhaus), published in 1981 by

Tower Books Tower Publications was an American publisher based in New York City that operated from 1958 to 1982. Originally known for their Midwood Books line of erotic men's fiction, it also published science fiction and fantasy under its Tower Books line ...

, an independent paperback publishing house associated with his then-employer,

Leisure Books Leisure Books was a mass market paperback publisher specializing in horror and thrillers that operated from 1957 to 2010. In the company's early years, it also published fantasy, science fiction, Westerns, and the Wildlife Treasury card series ...

. He wrote more than a dozen western novels under his own name, as well as pseudonyms, including ''Steelman's Way'', ''Jericho'', ''Kid Stark'', ''Big Horn'', and ''Prairie''. In the late 1990s he turned to nonfiction and fiction with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as his subject. He has written two Catholic-interest novels, ''Conclave'' and ''Council'', During the news coverage of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

's death and the

papal conclave A conclave is a gathering of the College of Cardinals convened to appoint the pope of the Catholic Church. Catholics consider the pope to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and the earthly head of the Catholic Church. Concerns around ...

that followed, Tobin appeared frequently on television and radio programs as an expert on the Catholic Church, and upon the resignation of

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

and subsequent election of

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

, he was sought after as a commentator on the church and the papacy. In 2012 he published ''The Good Pope'', a biography of

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

, who was canonized in 2014, when Tobin was called upon again to speak and appear in various media for commentary on the topic of St. John XXIII's canonization. He resides in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...

Books (partial listing)

* ''Season on Power'' (Tower Books, 1981) * ''Holy Holidays!'' * ''Selecting the Pope'' * ''The Wisdom of St. Patrick'' * ''Saints and Sinners'' * ''The Good Pope'' * ''Holy Father'' * ''Religion in America (co-general editor)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tobin, Greg Living people 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American religious writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Year of birth missing (living people)