Author Guide · Narrative Nonfiction
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On 20 April 1999 Dave Cullen was among the first reporters to arrive at Columbine High School in Colorado. He spent the next ten years working out what had really happened, and found that much of what the country believed about the attack was wrong. Nineteen years later he went to Parkland, Florida, where something different was happening: the students who survived a school shooting turned their grief into a national movement. This guide covers both of his books in order, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 2 books · Narrative nonfiction · 2009–2019 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Dave Cullen has published two books: Columbine (2009), his definitive account of the 1999 school shooting and its aftermath, and Parkland: Birth of a Movement (2019), about the teenage survivors who became activists. A third book, Don't Fall in Love, about two gay soldiers he has followed since 2000, has been announced by HarperCollins for 2027.
Where to Start with Dave Cullen
If you want the famous one
→ Columbine (2009).
If you want the follow-up
→ Parkland (2019).
All 2 Dave Cullen Books, in Order
Columbine
Ten years of reporting on the Columbine High School shooting: the two killers, the victims, the investigation and the survivors, and the myths that grew up in the first days of coverage. It became a New York Times bestseller and has been named one of the best nonfiction books of the past quarter century.
Parkland
Cullen followed the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida through the year after the 2018 shooting there, as they organised the March for Our Lives and a national campaign on gun violence. It was reported and written in under a year and published for the first anniversary.
How Many Books Did Dave Cullen Write?
Two books, in 2009 and 2019, with a third announced for 2027.
- Narrative nonfiction — Columbine (2009) and Parkland (2019). Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Dave Cullen
The two books can be read in either order, but reading Columbine first shows what changed by the time of Parkland: one is about a tragedy and its myths, the other about how a generation responded.
A reading path
1. Columbine (2009)
2. Parkland (2019)
Quick facts about Dave Cullen
- Work
- Freelance journalist, author and filmmaker
- Wrote for
- Salon, Vanity Fair
- Columbine
- Among the first journalists on the scene in 1999; ten years on the book
- Next book
- Don't Fall in Love, announced by HarperCollins for 2027
- Books
- 2, Columbine (2009) and Parkland (2019)
How Dave Cullen Writes: The Long View of a Single Day
Cullen spends years on a story. Columbine took a decade of interviews and records to separate what happened from what was reported in the first chaotic days, and it tells the story out of order, moving between the day itself and the years before and after.
Parkland was the opposite exercise: written close to events, from inside the student movement, and deliberately focused on the survivors rather than the shooter.
Frequently asked questions about Dave Cullen's books
How many books has Dave Cullen written?
Dave Cullen has published two books: Columbine (2009) and Parkland: Birth of a Movement (2019). A third, Don't Fall in Love, has been announced for 2027.
What is Columbine by Dave Cullen about?
Columbine (2009) is a detailed account of the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado, based on ten years of reporting, which corrects many of the myths that grew up around it.
What is Parkland: Birth of a Movement about?
Parkland (2019) follows the student survivors of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida as they became national activists.
Footnotes
- Dave Cullen — Wikipedia
- A Way Out: Dave Cullen Doesn't Want to Write Another Columbine — The Millions
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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