Ryan Bingham
asked
Dave Cullen:
Hey Dave, I just finished Columbine. You speak about the depression and PTSD that the book brought you. Is this why Parkland is such a different book than Columbine? Your focus seemed to have switched from the shooters and their impact in Columbine to more just the victims in Parkland.
Dave Cullen
Thanks for thinking about that and asking about that Ryan.
2 big reasons:
1. I'd already done that. I have so many books to write and no interest in repeating.
2. Yes. I actually made a firm agreement with my shrink that I'd never go back--and potentially dire consequences if I did.
The only reason I went to Parkland was that I was so amazed by those kids--wrote a piece about them for Politico the first night, and was on a slew of TV the 1st 24 hours increasingly excited and hopeful. So when my Vanity Fair editor asked me to fly down the 2nd day, I was still very leery, but agreed to go briefly to see.
I agreed to 5 weeks only, up to/through the DC MFOL, to write several online pieces and co-produce a video. I agreed ONLY to cover the kids' movement, not the killer/killing or the grief.
So I never intended anything like Columbine.
By then I was so taken by them, I agreed to stay on to do a big piece for the print mag, and considering a book. I asked David Hogg and a few of the others how they felt, and they were all for it.
So I pitched a short/quick book half the size of the final book to HarperCollins also on the kids and they loved it. I pitched it with the final subtitle as what I was proposing: "birth of a movement."
I also said in the proposal I refused to name the killer. My editor said let's keep an open mind on that, and decide once you finish. I said that was a dealbreaker, but I'd see how I felt once I drafted it. I was more firm than ever, and she said Oh, it was fine.
Maybe she assumed I would go into the crime somewhat. I ended up deciding to write 1 page summarizing the killers' lead up and the crime itself, for context. I hadn't planned to do even that, but decided the bare bones were necessary, and readers could look elsewhere for that.
I was shocked that the whole year with them, getting to know them well, helped cure me. I knew Columbine was still weighing me down and under a dark cloud, but I had no idea THAT much, until so much lifted. (Not all or close, but a ton.) I couldn't believe how happy I felt, and had forgotten what it felt like after 19 years. I was like, Oh yeah! I used to be a bubbly, happy guy! It felt amazing to meet a version of pre-Columbine Dave again. Don't think I'll ever get the full version back after 26 years, and also growing much older. I gave that guy up as the price of that book. I appreciate you asking.
2 big reasons:
1. I'd already done that. I have so many books to write and no interest in repeating.
2. Yes. I actually made a firm agreement with my shrink that I'd never go back--and potentially dire consequences if I did.
The only reason I went to Parkland was that I was so amazed by those kids--wrote a piece about them for Politico the first night, and was on a slew of TV the 1st 24 hours increasingly excited and hopeful. So when my Vanity Fair editor asked me to fly down the 2nd day, I was still very leery, but agreed to go briefly to see.
I agreed to 5 weeks only, up to/through the DC MFOL, to write several online pieces and co-produce a video. I agreed ONLY to cover the kids' movement, not the killer/killing or the grief.
So I never intended anything like Columbine.
By then I was so taken by them, I agreed to stay on to do a big piece for the print mag, and considering a book. I asked David Hogg and a few of the others how they felt, and they were all for it.
So I pitched a short/quick book half the size of the final book to HarperCollins also on the kids and they loved it. I pitched it with the final subtitle as what I was proposing: "birth of a movement."
I also said in the proposal I refused to name the killer. My editor said let's keep an open mind on that, and decide once you finish. I said that was a dealbreaker, but I'd see how I felt once I drafted it. I was more firm than ever, and she said Oh, it was fine.
Maybe she assumed I would go into the crime somewhat. I ended up deciding to write 1 page summarizing the killers' lead up and the crime itself, for context. I hadn't planned to do even that, but decided the bare bones were necessary, and readers could look elsewhere for that.
I was shocked that the whole year with them, getting to know them well, helped cure me. I knew Columbine was still weighing me down and under a dark cloud, but I had no idea THAT much, until so much lifted. (Not all or close, but a ton.) I couldn't believe how happy I felt, and had forgotten what it felt like after 19 years. I was like, Oh yeah! I used to be a bubbly, happy guy! It felt amazing to meet a version of pre-Columbine Dave again. Don't think I'll ever get the full version back after 26 years, and also growing much older. I gave that guy up as the price of that book. I appreciate you asking.
More Answered Questions
Sandra Younger
asked
Dave Cullen:
I went to your session at the LA Book Festival ~10 years ago, when I was 6.5 yrs and dozens of interviews into my book re: the then-biggest California wildfire. I wondered: would I ever finish? And then you said it took you 10 years to publish Columbine. That normalized my experience and kept me going. The Fire Outside My Window launched on the 10-year anniversary of California's historic Cedar Fire. Thank you!
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Sep 14, 2025 08:48AM · flag