Steve Coll

Early life and family

Steve Coll was born on October 8, 1958, in Washington, D.C. He attended Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, graduating in 1976. Following high school, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and enrolled in Occidental College, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. In 1980, he graduated cum laude with majors in English and history. Coll also attended the University of Sussex during his studies.

Coll is married to the journalist and poet Eliza Griswold.

Career

Journalism

After college, Coll wrote for the Pasadena Weekly. He then wrote general-interest articles for California magazine.

In 1985, he started working for The Washington Post as a general assignment feature writer for the paper's Style section. Two years later, he was promoted to serve as the financial correspondent for the newspaper, based in New York City. He and David A. Vise collaborated on a series of reports scrutinizing the Securities and Exchange Commission for which they received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers. In 1989, he moved to New Delhi, when he was appointed as the ''Post'''s South Asia bureau chief. He served as a foreign correspondent through 1995.

Coll began working for the newspaper's Sunday magazine insert in 1995, serving as publisher of the magazine from 1996 to 1998. He was promoted to managing editor of the newspaper in 1998 and served in that capacity through 2004. He has also served as an associate editor for the newspaper from late 2004 to August 2005.

From September 2005 through December 2023, Coll was a member of the writing staff of The New Yorker. Based in Washington, D.C., he reported on foreign intelligence and national security. Since the beginning of 2024 he has been visiting senior editor at The Economist.

New America Foundation

On July 23, 2007, Coll was named as the next director of the New America Foundation, a non-profit, non-partisan think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. He has also contributed to the New York Review of Books, particularly about the war in Afghanistan. On June 25, 2012, Coll announced his resignation as President of the New America Foundation to pen a follow-up to Ghost Wars.

On October 23, 2012, Coll was elected to the Pulitzer Prize Board, administered by Columbia University.

Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism

On March 18, 2013, it was announced that Coll would succeed Nick Lemann as the dean of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, effective July 1, 2013.

Publications

Coll's The Achilles Trap was published in 2024 to positive reviews, with The New York Times writing that it offers, "a more intimate picture of the dictator [Saddam Hussein]’s thinking about world politics, local power and his relationship to the United States than has been seen before". The Washington Post argued that despite its holistic picture of Hussein, Coll failed to accurately portray the CIA's motivations. In a March 2024 interview, Coll told PBS that the contributions by Hussein were missing from Americans' understanding of the war.

Honors and awards

• 1990: Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting (co-winner with David A. Vise)
• 1992: Livingston Award for International Reporting for "Crisis and Change in South Asia," The Washington Post (winner)
• 2000: Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for "Peace Without Justice: A Journey to the Wounded Heart of Africa," The Washington Post (1st Prize: International Print)
• 2000: Ed Cunningham Award for "Peace Without Justice: A Journey to the Wounded Heart of Africa", The Washington Post
• 2004: Lionel Gelber Prize for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
• 2004: Cornelius Ryan Award for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
• 2005: Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
• 2005: Arthur Ross Book Award for Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 (winner)
• 2008: National Book Critics Circle Award (biography) for The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (finalist)
• 2009: PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for The Bin Ladens: An Arabian Family in the American Century (winner)
• 2010: Edward Weintal Prize for Diplomatic Reporting
• 2012: Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award for Private Empire (winner)
• 2012: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for Private Empire (finalist)
• 2018: National Book Critics Circle Award (nonfiction) for Directorate S (winner)
• 2024: Orwell Prize for Political Writing for The Achilles Trap (shortlisted)

Bibliography

Main article: Steve Coll bibliography

Podcasts

References

References

1. (June 10, 1990). "Growing Up Suburban". Washington Post Magazine.
2. "Steve Coll".
3. (March 15, 2005). "Conversations with History". University of California, Berkeley.
4. "Historical Winners List".
5. (May 2, 1995). "Government Investment Series Wins Loeb Award".
6. "David A. Vise and Steve Coll of The Washington Post - The Pulitzer Prizes".
7. "The Pulitzer Prizes | Awards". Pulitzer.org.
8. "Contributors: Steve Coll". Newyorker.com.
9. "Steve Coll". Columbia Journalism School.
10. Cohen, Patricia. (July 23, 2007). "Journalist Chosen to Lead a Public Policy Institute". The New York Times.
11. "Steve Coll". NewAmerica.net.
12. (17 July 2012). "Abiz Top 50 Business Luncheon - August 23, 2012".
13. "The Pulitzer Prizes | Journalist, playwright and regional newspaper editor named to Pulitzer Prize Board". Pulitzer.org.
14. "Steve Coll named Dean of J-School". Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
15. Kaminer, Ariel. (March 18, 2013). "Columbia Names New Dean for Journalism School". [[The New York Times]].
16. Malone, Noreen. (2024-02-26). "Is America All-Knowing and All-Powerful? Yes, Thought Saddam Hussein.". The New York Times.
17. (2024-02-27). "Review {{!}} Steve Coll's latest shows Saddam Hussein's practical side". Washington Post.
18. (2024-03-10). "'The Achilles Trap' offers a new look at Saddam Hussein's relationship with the U.S.".
19. "Past Winners | Livingston Awards". Livawards.org.
20. (2 May 2017). "Crisis and Change in South Asia".
21. (18 May 2022). "The Ed Cunningham Award 2000".
22. (8 November 2023). "The Cornelius Ryan Award 2004".
23. (March 11, 2013). "The Pulitzer Prizes | Citation". Pulitzer.org.
24. "National Book Critics Circle: 2008 NBCC Finalists Announced". bookcritics.org.
25. "Edward Weintal Prize for Diplomatic Reporting". Georgetown University.
26. Muchnick, Laurie. (November 3, 2012). "Steve Coll Wins FT/Goldman Prize for Exxon Mobil Study". [[Business Week]].
27. Williams, John. (January 14, 2012). "National Book Critics Circle Names 2012 Award Finalists". [[New York Times]].
28. Italie, Hillel. (March 14, 2018). "Zadie Smith, Anna Burns among winners of critics prizes". The Washington Post.
29. (2024-06-11). "Orwell Prizes 2024 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing.