S. C. Gwynne Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling historian

S.C. Gwynne is an award-winning journalist, Pulitzer Prize finalist, and bestselling historian. He is the author of the New York Times bestsellers Empire of the Summer Moon, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and received the Texas Book Award and the Oklahoma Book Award, as well as  Rebel Yell.  His other books include, The Perfect Pass, which tells the incredible story of how two unknown coaches revolutionized American football at every level; Hymns of The Republic, a spellbinding, epic account of the dramatic conclusion of the Civil War; and most recently His Majesty’s Airship, which recounts the tragic story of the British airship R101—which went down in a spectacular hydrogen-fueled fireball in 1930. 

Gwynne has spent most of the last fourteen years writing for Texas Monthly, where he was executive editor from 2000-2008. His work included cover stories on Karl Rove, NASA, the King Ranch, Johnny Manziel, the University of Texas, and Southwest Airlines. In 2008, he won the National City and Regional Magazine Award for “Writer of the Year.” He also writes for Outside magazine. His articles include a 2011 story about a canoe trip down the Pecos River in Texas, and a 2012 piece about Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific, where the Americans tested atomic weapons and where Bikinians are now trying to return.

Prior to joining Texas Monthly, Gwynne worked for Time magazine as Correspondent, Bureau Chief, National Correspondent and Senior Editor. He traveled throughout the United States and to England, Austria, France, Belgium, Spain, and Russia to report stories for Time, and has won numerous awards for his work there, including a National Headliners Award for his work on the Columbine High School shootings. He also won the Gerald Loeb Award, the country’s most prestigious award for business writing, the Jack Anderson Award as the best investigative reporter, and the John Hancock Award for Distinguished Financial Writing.

Gwynne’s work has also appeared in The New York Times, Harper’s, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, California Magazine, Boston Globe, Dallas Morning News, and other publications. He attended Princeton University and Johns Hopkins University and lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Katie, and daughter, Maisie.