During his time at The Daily Illini, Dave Cullen worked as a news reporter with a local politics beat. He spoke with prominent politicians, even bringing his journalistic skills to the back of George H. W. Bush’s limousine as an undergraduate student.

Cullen said he did not feel confident about the interview with Bush, but it made him realize he had a lot to learn.

“That was a very humbling moment, but it was one of the best moments of my life,” Cullen said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I have to get a lot better.’” 

Cullen said he was one of the best reporters on the news staff during his time, working at The DI for three years during his undergraduate degree.

However, Cullen dropped out of the University halfway through his senior year and decided to join the army. While serving, he broke his back in an accident and, after two more years, came back to the University in a body cast to complete the rest of his undergraduate degree.

Despite hating math during his beginning years in college, Cullen said he graduated in 1986 with a degree in math and computer science in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. 

Cullen went on to get his master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Colorado Boulder. 

Since graduating, Cullen has been a freelance writer. His works have been published under many outlets, including The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Washington Post, Politico and more. 

He had always covered serious topics in his writing, but he did not expect how one event would change the course of his career. 

Cullen arrived at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 within the first hour of the shooting. 

He said he went into the situation not knowing what to expect, but he soon saw the gravity of the massacre. According to his website two questions came to Cullen’s mind: “Why did they do it? How did the community recover?” 

He spent ten years working on a book dissecting the shooters’ motives and stories. He also highlighted the survivors’ stories and brought their stories of healing to life. 

The novel “Columbine” was published in 2009 and became a New York Times Best Seller. It has won several awards including an Edgar Award, a Goodreads Choice Award and a The Truth About the Fact Award.

His second novel, published in 2019, is titled “Parkland.” This novel followed the tragic school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2019. 

However, this is not a story about the shooter and the recovery of the community. According to his website, Cullen focused on the hope that emerged from the teens who began the March For Our Lives movement.

The novel was featured on 10 “Best Books of 2019” lists from Vanity Fair, NPR, The Washington Post, Goodreads and others.

Cullen has titled his upcoming novel “Gay Soldiers,” a story he has been working on for 25 years.

The story focuses on two gay soldiers before, during and after the U.S. adopted its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1994. 

The policy prohibited gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals from serving in the military. Soldiers had to hide their sexuality in fear of getting discharged. The policy was repealed in 2011. 

The novel follows the two gay soldiers during this timeline and shows their strategies to “outmaneuver the silent adversary,” Cullen said. 

Cullen said the novel is set to publish in 2024.

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