Howard Blum (born 1948) is an American author and journalist. Formerly a reporter for The Village Voice and The New York Times, Blum is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and the author of several non-fiction books, including the New York Times bestseller and Edgar Award winner American Lightning.

Career

In 1986, Blum began working as a reporter for the New York Times, where he earned two Pulitzer Prize nominations. Since 1994, Blum has been a contributing editor to Vanity Fair. Several of his books were non-fiction bestsellers, including Gangland, Wanted, The Gold of Exodus, and The Brigade: An Epic Story of Vengeance, Salvation, and WWII. Additionally, a number of his works have been optioned for film. Miramax Films purchased the rights from Blum for six figures to turn The Brigade into a major motion picture, although it seems the movie was never made.

Personal life

Blum is the son of Harold K. Blum (1917–1984), an executive at the Kane Miller Corporation in Tarrytown, New York, and Gertrude Blum, a schoolteacher in New York City. For high school, Blum attended the Horace Mann School and earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University, where he also received an M.A. in government in 1970. In January 1991, he married Jenny Cox, a book editor. They are divorced. He currently resides in Sag Harbor, New York and Connecticut. Howard is the brother of celebrity wedding planner Marcy Blum.