David Grann

Investigative narrative nonfiction often reconstructs forgotten historical tragedies and complex real-life mysteries through exhaustive archival research and field reporting. David Grann, a #1 New York Times bestselling author and award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker magazine, has earned wide recognition for turning historical investigations into rigorous non-fiction narratives, most notably with Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.

Career & Background

Born David Elliot Grann on March 10, 1967, he earned a bachelor's degree from Connecticut College and a master's degree from The Fletcher School at Tufts University in 1992. Before becoming a full-time author and long-form magazine journalist, Grann contributed articles to several national publications, including The New York Times Magazine and The Atlantic. In 2003, he joined the staff of The New Yorker, where his complex investigative reporting earned accolades such as the George Polk Award.

Writing Style & Themes

Grann's non-fiction is defined by painstaking archival research, forensic attention to historical records, and a recurring focus on human obsession, true crime, and survival under extreme conditions. His work frequently uncovers systemic injustice and cold cases where greed or extreme ambition led to tragic consequences. Despite a degenerative eye condition that severely limits his eyesight, Grann conducts immersive field research, traveling to remote settings like the South American rainforest to verify historical details firsthand.

Major Works

• Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI — Published in 2017, this book details the 1920s conspiracy and systematic murders of wealthy members of the Osage Indian Nation in Oklahoma following the discovery of oil on their land. The investigation, led by J. Edgar Hoover's early Federal Bureau of Investigation, earned the Edgar Allan Poe Award and was a finalist for the National Book Award.
• The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder — This #1 New York Times bestseller chronicles the 18th-century journey and catastrophic wreck of the British naval vessel HMS Wager off the coast of Patagonia, detailing the survival struggle, subsequent mutiny, and conflicting trial testimonies of the survivors.
• The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon — A #1 New York Times bestseller that investigates the mysterious 1925 disappearance of British explorer Percy Fawcett in the Amazon basin, combining historical research with Grann's personal expedition into the jungle, later adapted into a major film.
• The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession — A collection of Grann's investigative journalism from The New Yorker, featuring real-life mysteries, cold cases, and unusual true-crime profiles.